Tactics of Revenge
by zephyrocity
Summary: Sequel fic. Tohyama is alive and working with Naraku; Sesshoumaru's past is finally revealed; Takeda Kuranosuke unexpectedly returns; and Miroku tries once again to convince Sango of his love for her. For the first time, Sesshoumaru feels threatened.
1. Heartbeat, Heartbreak

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.  
**Summary:** Tohyama is alive, and has teamed up with Naraku. Sesshoumaru's past is finally revealed, Takeda Kuranosuke returns and Miroku tries again to convince Sango of his undying love. For the first time, Sesshoumaru feels threatened.

* * *

**_Tactics of Revenge  
_****Chapter 1: Heartbeat, Heartbreak**

Miroku wasn't laughing this time. He was pleading.

Sango stared fixedly at the ground. She could hear Miroku desperately trying to reason with her, but it was muted and she wasn't listening. Little lies were spewing out of the houshi's mouth, and she knew it, and there was no way he could convince her otherwise.

"Sango," Miroku begged, "don't do this! You don't understand—"

"Of course not, houshi-sama," Sango whispered, slowly bringing her cinnamon eyes to his wide lavender ones. She was rewarded with a little satisfaction when he realized she had called him 'houshi-sama'.

"'Houshi-sama'?" he spluttered, stopping dead in his tracks on the dirt road.

Sango kept on walking. Adjusting the Hiraikotsu's straps for more comfort, the young woman allowed the world to slip away. Distantly, she heard someone call out to her; she didn't answer.

"Sango!" Kagome called again. She sighed miserably and turned to Inuyasha, who shrugged. So, turning back to where Miroku was trailing dejectedly along, she shrieked in his direction, "Miroku-sama!"

The houshi winced. Kagome had sounded mad. He turned. "Y-yes, Kagome-sama?"

"How could you!" she screeched, coming up and jabbing a finger at the unsurprised but distressed houshi. "After all you two had been through—I can't _believe _this! You _cheated _on her? You lying, degenerate houshi!"

Miroku shut his eyes to block out the pain. Kagome wasn't one to randomly throw out curses. The houshi glanced toward Sango. "You know nothing," he murmured, and walked on.

Kagome's mouth became a hard line, and she raced after him. When she caught up, she grabbed his robed shoulder and spun him around. "What are you doing?" the futuristic miko hissed furiously. "Go! Beg Sango's forgiveness!"

"Don't you get it?" Miroku snapped. Kagome was taken aback by his anger, and shook her head. "Sango hates me! She is not going to listen!"

Kagome's gaze fell to the ground. "Well…" she whispered after a pause, and didn't finish for lack of knowing what to say to the poor houshi. The schoolgirl glanced at the taijiya, now almost out of sight.

Miroku let out a long sigh. "Now tell me, Kagome-sama, what's the point of me staying when you all hate me for what I have done?"

Kagome flushed. "We don't hate you!" she said hurriedly. "It's only…" She trailed off, and flushed.

"Exactly! What's the point of me staying when the person I care for most hates me!" Miroku snapped loudly, having known exactly what she had been about to say before she wisely stopped herself. Immediately he regretted it; Sango turned and shot him a glare to freeze the soul.

* * *

"Yes… there is a demon in your house, sir," Miroku said listlessly.

The rich man, stunned, pleaded with them to exorcise the demon in exchange for a room. Miroku agreed, stuck a sutra on the wall, told the old man it would be gone by morning and then asked him to lead them to their rooms.

"G'night, Kagome," Inuyasha said as they parted for the night. Kagome took Shippo and Kirara in her arms and all save two disappeared inside their respective rooms. Miroku and Sango faced each other outside. Sango was silent, deaf to Miroku's pleads, no matter how desperate.

"You betrayed my trust," Sango said monotonously after he had run out of things to say, and she turned to the door. Throwing open the shoji, Sango stepped inside and tossed this remark straight at his heart: "I knew you would, but I hoped you wouldn't."

Then she shut the shoji with a clack, leaving Miroku alone in the dark.

* * *

Kagome watched with tears in her eyes as Kaede's bloodied body disappeared underneath a mound of dirt. She turned to Inuyasha and buried her face in his haori, small fists beating his chest. "How could he!" she sputtered, hampered by her tears. "How could he kill Kaede? I hate him, I hate him!"

"She's gone, Kagome," Inuyasha said heavily. "But so is he."

Kagome sniffled miserably, while Sango and Miroku just looked on with grievous hearts. It had only been earlier that day that they had discovered Kaede's untimely end, and they had rushed to the village. Now the sun was setting.

"I can't believe Kaede is dead," Sango said to no one in particular, voiced hushed to keep Kagome from hearing. She closed her eyes. "And she was the one who warned us about Tohyama in the first place…"

Miroku nodded, but through her peripheral vision, Sango saw his head move and her eyes narrowed and shot him a glare. The houshi flinched internally. He, hurt, raised a hand in Sango's direction, but then dropped it, knowing that there was no way Sango would let him touch her. "I'm sorry," he said.

"I'm sure," Sango remarked coldly.

Miroku bit his lip and looked away.

* * *

Kagome stayed at Kaede's grave long after everyone else had left, kneeling before the mound with sad eyes. She had said that she was coming, so when her friends saw that she was not going to go, they prodded Inuyasha forward, and he, slightly reluctant, went to console her.

Inuyasha knelt beside her and stared at the grave before her. "I'm sorry," he closed his eyes, "but I'm sure the old—err, I mean, Kaede—wouldn't have wanted you to mourn this way."

"How can I not mourn?" Kagome whispered. She turned away from Inuyasha and wiped at her eyes. "But I guess you're right…"

Inuyasha let a small smile grace his lips and helped Kagome up. "Well, let's go. No use hanging around here."

Kagome, not very pleased by this remark but too tired to show it, murmured, "Wait. Let's stay here tonight. I'm really tired… I guess all that crying just drained all my energy…"

Inuyasha nodded and walked back to Kaede's hut. A brooding Miroku was waiting outside. "Kagome wants to stay here tonight," Inuyasha told the houshi. "We better sleep here, then."

"Hmm," Miroku said skeptically, "are you sure Kagome will want to stay in this hut? It is Kaede-san's, after all…"

Inuyasha shrugged. "We can't sleep anywhere else. Besides, if Kaede had written a will, I'm sure she would have given this to Kagome or somethin'…" Miroku nodded, and Inuyasha, after looking around and seeing that no one else appeared to be nearby, asked curiously, "Kagome's still at the grave, but where are Sango, Shippo and Kirara?"

The houshi bit his lip. "Well, Shippo and Kirara are inside, but Sango ran off after…"

_The sun had just disappeared over the horizon. Miroku was striding slowly through the empty village, dejectedly thinking of Sango. _There's no way in hell that Sango is going to bear my child now, _the houshi thought bitterly. He sighed. _What am I to do? She doesn't—

_Just then, a pretty, giggling girl sprinted out of the house and collided with him—hard. Both tumbled to the ground, and Miroku's arms wrapped automatically around the girl's waist to protect her from the dirt. They lay there together for a moment, stunned, when a pair of soft padding footsteps was heard coming toward them._

_Miroku tried lifting his head (the girl's head was buried the crook of his neck) and, to his horror, saw Sango standing before them with a blank expression on her face. _Perfect, _Miroku thought dryly._

_Sango's lip curled angrily. "You really have to learn to stick to one girl, houshi, and don't think I mean me… tell me, what about that poor girl you left behind?"_

_"Sango," Miroku said quickly, pushing the startled, innocent maiden off him. He sat up and pleaded, "You don't understand. We fell—"_

_Sango snorted._

_"Please, miss!" the girl said, standing and brushing dirt off her pink and white kimono. "It's the truth…!"_

_"Of course it is," Sango said, shrugging. "It's not like this has happened _before_."_

_She turned on her heel and stalked away, ignoring Miroku's now outstretched hand. The houshi stared after her forlornly, watching as she hurried into an awkward run, and he listened to the muffled sounds of her pain as she darted away._

Miroku looked at the ground. The tale had not been a pleasant one to tell, especially while watching Inuyasha's suspicious face.

"Are you sure you fell on her?" Inuyasha asked accusingly.

"Yes, I am!" Miroku snapped; he was very—and understandably—sick of hearing things like that.

* * *

Sango ran blindly through the forest, failing in avoiding the sharp, prickling branches scratching at her arms and legs. Tears ran in rivers down her cheeks, and when she arrived in a grassy clearing, she dropped to her knees. Burying her face in her shaking hands, Sango let out a small, quivering sob. _Damn, damn, damn…_

"Sango."

The taijiya immediately glanced up in the direction of the voice that she knew well, and saw through blurry eyes the figure of a man that she was so deeply in debt to. Golden orbs stared back from behind a thick silver fringe, his mouth a thin, annoyed line.

"Sesshoumaru," Sango gasped, wiping furiously at her teary eyes, shocked and a little displeased by his appearance. She looked ridiculous; she did not want him to see her like this, though she couldn't exactly say why.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his sharp golden eyes. "It is that houshi, isn't it?" he asked heavily. His tone was not gentle; in fact, he sounded annoyed, for once.

Sango looked away and swallowed another sob. "P-please," she begged, refusing to meet his eyes, "leave me alone."

"What has he done to you?" the taiyoukai questioned monotonously. "What has happened to the taijiya who has proved herself stronger than any other human I have encountered?" Sesshoumaru winced inwardly. He had not meant to say something like that.

Sango's eyes widened and she sat up straighter, her tears slowing ever so slightly. "W-what do you mean?"

His brow drew together in a dissatisfied frown. Why couldn't she understand? Leaning forward slightly, he caught her chin in his tapered fingers, and tipped her head skyward until she was forced to meet the very honey-colored eyes that she had been avoiding.

"Can you let yourself be broken by a weak, womanizing houshi?" Pulling back, the taiyoukai let go of her stunned face and stood, retreating into the darkness.

* * *

"Kikyo-sama?" called a meek farmer, stepping toward a beautiful woman with long, black hair who dressed like a priestess.

The woman glanced up immediately from where she had been playing fondly with the children. "Yes?" she answered, smiling, her eyes crinkling kindly at the corners. "What is it, sir?"

The human took an uneasy step forward and pointed toward a particularly fancy bamboo hut behind him. "The village priest," he said in a hushed tone, "he won't tell me why, but he wants you gone. By tonight."

Kikyo's mouth turned down at the edges, and she stood. "Tell him I will not leave," she stated abruptly, clearly offended.

The farmer, nervous, nodded and hurried back to the hut. There was a hushed conversation and then a great clamor. A white-haired head poked out of the door, and the priest shot Kikyo a horrible glare.

Kikyo stared levelly back at him, and turned away when there was a tug on her hand.

"Why does the village priest want you to leave, Kikyo-sama?" the little girl, whose name was Mayu, asked cutely.

Kikyo smiled down at the little girl. "Don't worry about it, Mayu-chan," she said softly. "But I must go now. I promised to help Shigure-san gather herbs today."

Mayu nodded innocently and disappeared into the field with her other young friends. Kikyo looked after her and walked gracefully away, to go and help an old farmer gather herbs for his dinner that evening.

* * *

"You! Woman!" came a voice out of the darkness as Kikyo headed back to the hut she was staying in late that evening.

Kikyo whirled around and faced the village priest. "Yes?" she asked, absently petting a stray Soul Collector that had come along bearing the soul of a recently departed young female from a nearby village.

"You are not of our world," the priest said, waving his staff around. "I want you to leave at once."

Kikyo thought back to the incident with that man who she killed, and that little girl Sayo… the miko did not want something like that to happen again. "If you wish it," she said softly, obviously surprising the priest a little. Without another word, Kikyo gathered her remaining soul collectors and swept off into the night.

* * *

One week had passed since Kaede's funeral, and Inuyasha and the others had stayed in the village, much to the hanyou's frustration.

In Kaede's hut, Kagome sat, motionless and deep in thought, looking at a certain spot in the wall as if expecting it to bare news. Sango slept next to her, ignoring Miroku as he stared sullenly at the taijiya from across the hut. Shippo and Kirara were playing, and Inuyasha was outside.

Suddenly, Kagome smiled; she had it all figured out. The futuristic miko had decided that she needed to know how Inuyasha felt about her, and had come up with a plan. Her plan was to take him into the forest (she knew exactly which clearing she wanted to take him to, too) and tell him that she had a boyfriend. The schoolgirl squirmed happily. It was perfect, and it was about to be put into action.

Kagome stood, waking Sango. After hurried apologies, Kagome sprinted out, leaving Sango and Miroku in uncomfortable silence.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called softly, and smiled upon seeing him sitting on the roof of a hut. "Come down!" she exclaimed.

With a puzzled expression on his face, Inuyasha hopped down and asked, "What is it, Kagome?"

Kagome took a deep breath_. Time to see what Inuyasha's true feelings for me are, _Kagome thought. She marched forward and grabbed Inuyasha's arm, ignoring his surprised cry as she dragged him off and into a nearby wood.

Knowing precisely where she was going, Kagome led Inuyasha through thickets of sharp, thorny branches that scraped at their faces and clothes, through a clump of damp ferns, and finally, over a stony hill.

There, at the bottom of the little valley, lay a small, grassy clearing with a tree stump in the center. Kagome, pleased with herself that she found it so quickly, squeezed Inuyasha's arm and hurried him down until they stood before the trunk.

Nervous, Kagome knotted her hands behind her back, cleared her throat, and said, "Inuyasha, I've never told you this, but I have someone back home."

"Yeah," he agreed immediately, scratching his head in confusion and resting one leg on the mossy tree stump. "Your mother, your grandfather—

"That's not what I meant," Kagome interrupted impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest in exasperation. "I mean, I have someone waiting for me at home… a _boyfriend_."

"A boyfriend," Inuyasha repeated slowly. He didn't do anything for a moment, and Kagome frowned.

_So… he doesn't care,_ she thought sadly. _He loves Kikyo after all… "_What?" Kagome snapped angrily, her nervousness giving away to momentary frustration and foolishness. "You have Kikyo."

Inuyasha shook his head, which made a spark of hope ignite in Kagome's heart, and said, "Keh." The schoolgirl took this to be a good sign, and her heart leaped into her mouth. He continued, "What's his name?"

"H… Ho… Hojo!" Kagome exclaimed, thinking of her sweet friend who was so devoted to her. This was a lie, of course, but Kagome wanted to see what the hanyou would do after hearing this.

"Hojo," Inuyasha tried the name out slowly. He shook his head and said, "But…"

Then, to Kagome's surprise, he drew her close, so her head was nestled in his chest. "I don't want you to have a boyfriend." He drew back and looked at her, an innocent pout on his face. "I don't want you to have 'boyfriends'," he repeated roughly. "Can't you just stay here with me?"

Happy tears sprung into Kagome's eyes. "Of course," she squealed, jumping forward and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Inuyasha?" came a deep, feminine voice from the sky.

The hanyou glanced up and his eyes widened as he saw a woman descend from the skies, riding on pale bluish-white creatures. "Kikyo," he breathed, letting Kagome go.

Kagome took a deep, shuddering breath. It had hurt, that Inuyasha had immediately let her go when Kikyo appeared. _Perfect…_ She gave a half-hearted wave and retreated behind Inuyasha, feeling both angry at Kikyo's intrusion and guilty for feeling angry, and, in some respects, for stealing Kikyo's man.

Kikyo was smiling a dry smile. "I see… I was right," she said slowly, one foot coming gently down on the ground so she could stand without the help of her Soul Collectors.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha said, shifting his weight from foot to foot awkwardly.

"This girl is more precious to you," the miko said softly. There was a burning sensation making itself known in the back of her throat, and tears were building in her eyes, but she wasn't about to let Inuyasha know that.

Inuyasha stretched out a hand toward her. "Kikyo—"

The pale miko narrowed her eyes, and brushed off his hand. Her dark orbs flitted to Kagome; when the revived miko had come across the two, she considered asking to speak with Kagome alone, but now she had lost all interest and felt rather numb since she had gathered what had been going on. A pale, chalky hand clutched at her heart. "I have to go," she said suddenly, sounding rather broken as her vital soul collectors gathered around her, preparing to lift her into the sky.

"I'm sorry," Inuyasha said immediately. Kagome's heart throbbed.

"Are you really?" Kikyo asked as she began to rise. "Inuyasha?"

"Kikyo!" Inuyasha called out instinctively, stepping away from Kagome and stretching out a hand towards his former love, but she was already gone. Kagome's heart gave another painful lurch.

The hanyou and the schoolgirl stood in silence for a minute, Inuyasha frozen from where he had been reaching for Kikyo, and Kagome immobile, her heart slowly cracking.

_After all he said… he still loves Kikyo…_

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Inuyasha stepped back and looked to Kagome. "Should we go back to camp?" he said, giving her a weak grin. Kagome felt as if the earlier events had been forgotten, and nodded numbly.

Inuyasha saw that she was in pain and bit his lip, looking away. "I'm sorry… but it's not fair… you know?" he asked awkwardly, avoiding Kagome's gaze. Though his next sentence was one of the most difficult he had ever said, he managed to get it between inaudible mutterings and mumbles.

"But don't think that this changes anything between us, Kagome."

When he was finished, he summoned the courage to look at Kagome's face. He was glad he did so; watching a blush rise into her cheeks was satisfying.

* * *

Back at the hut and having no idea what had happened between Inuyasha, Kagome and Kikyo, Miroku was trying to make small talk. Sango wasn't listening.

"Shippo is getting quite big, isn't he?" the houshi said, attempting at conversation.

Sango didn't answer; she merely looked at the floor of the hut and fingered the Hiraikotsu, resting against the wall behind her.

"So, how did you and Kirara first meet?"

Sango wasn't going to tell him that the faithful cat demon was given to her by her father, or anything else, for that matter. This had been going on for ten minutes, and the taijiya couldn't understand why Miroku couldn't get the hint: she did _not _want to talk to him.

"Sango," Miroku said desperately, leaning toward her and grabbing her hand. Sango tried to pull away, but he had her hand in a vice-like grip and he wasn't about to let go.

"What?" Sango replied emotionlessly, looking into his eyes so he could see the anger—and the pain—in them.

Miroku flinched inwardly as he stared into the depths of her eyes and saw such feeling, but didn't look away, as Sango hoped he might. Taking a deep breath, the houshi decided to abandon the truth and simply apologize. "I'm sorry. Please. Believe me."

Infuriated, Sango managed to shrug out of his hold. She stood, and walked out of the hut. "Tell Kagome and Inuyasha that I will be back for dinner."

"Where are you going?" Miroku yelped.

"To the hot spring."

"That's an awfully long bath," Miroku exclaimed mildly, but the taijiya didn't answer. She was already gone.

* * *

Sango let out a long sigh as she slipped into the steaming pool. Her clothes and a towel that she had borrowed from Kagome were dropped on a rock on the edge of the water. Resisting the urge to yelp at the heat and spring back out, Sango lowered herself further and let the water slip over her head until she was completely engulfed.

Soon needing air, Sango shot back up in the cool late afternoon air and leaned back, closing her eyes peacefully.

"Sango-chan?" came a soft, timid voice from behind.

"Hmm?" The taijiya glanced back to see Kagome, fully dressed and clutching a towel, bending toward her, a small smile on her face. "Kagome-chan," she said softly, and smiled back.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Sango shook her head. "Not at all."

Dropping her towel next to Sango's and hurrying off with her clothes, Kagome dove into the relaxing water. "Ah," Kagome sighed blissfully, sitting back against the cool gray rocks on the side. "This is _so_nice…"

"It sure is," Sango agreed, a little part of her wishing that she had said that she wanted to be alone. Glancing wearily over at her friend, Sango saw, to her mild surprise, that Kagome was nearly hopping about with joy, splashing water all over. "Kagome," Sango said as humorously as she could, "it isn't _that _great."

"You're right," Kagome noted, and blushed.

Sango got the feeling that something had happened that Kagome was not letting on about. The taijiya immediately perked up and crawled toward her friend. "What is it?" she asked curiously. "Kagome…?"

"Inu… Inuyasha," Kagome said shyly, "h-he… I think…"

Sango frowned. _He what?_

"I think he loves me…"

Sango bit back a snort. _Of course he does, _Sango thought. _What's so special about tha— _Suddenly a thought struck her. "Kagome," she said hurriedly, excitedly, "did he say so? To you?"

"Well," Kagome blushed more, "not in those words, but… yes…"

Sango's mouth opened in pleased surprise, and she grinned happily at her friend. "Wow, Kagome," Sango said truthfully, "that's so wonderful!"

Kagome beamed. "I know," she said softly, deciding not to tell Sango about Kikyo. "I… love him too…"

Sango chuckled. "I know," she said, letting out another giggle when she saw Kagome's shocked expression.

"Y-you do!"

Sango nodded and admitted, "It was pretty obvious."

Kagome ducked her head in embarrassment and asked meekly, "So how are you and Miroku?" Immediately she regretted it, and covered her mouth, glancing at Sango's expression in the reflection of the murky water. _I can't believe I forgot…_

Sango shook her head and looked away, eyes going glassy as she remembered her talk with Sesshoumaru a week ago… that talk had made her feel a whole lot better; she had never thanked him.

"Sango?"

The taijiya's head snapped back to where Kagome's wavering voice had come from. "Yes?" Sango said, pulling herself away from her thoughts.

"I'm sorry," Kagome said softly, "I didn't—"

"It doesn't matter," Sango answered automatically. She turned back to the schoolgirl, and offered a fake smile. "So, how did it happen?"

Kagome reddened again, and launched into her plan, and how successful it was… until Kikyo showed up. But Kagome, not wanting to ruin the moment, didn't bother telling Sango about that particular occurrence.

* * *

Miles away, Sesshoumaru, having figured out loosely what Miroku did to Sango, was now seething underneath his cool exterior. True, a week had passed, but Sesshoumaru would not let it go. Not this time.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken squeaked nervously. They had been traveling for days on end; Rin was asleep on Ah-Un's back, Jaken was curious as to where they were headed, and had gotten wind that his lord was annoyed.

"What is it, Jaken?" Sesshoumaru asked, sounding calm despite talking through gritted teeth.

Jaken gulped nervously and said, voice quivering, "Wh-where are we going, milord?"

Sesshoumaru paused, looked around, and cringed inwardly. He had found that they had gone in a huge circle, and were now headed back to his brother's camp. The taiyoukai glanced up, and saw the sun was setting. "Perhaps it is time that we rest," he stated monotonously, surprising Jaken, who had not expected an answer.

"Y-yes, milord," Jaken exclaimed, looking around. "But where?"

"Find a clearing. Take Rin. I will be back," Sesshoumaru said, taking off into the darkening forest without another word. Jaken stared after him, mouth agape, before squawking and attending to Rin.

* * *

Miroku let out a loud, lengthy sigh as he stood and exited Kaede's hut. Inuyasha, who had returned and bashfully told him of what had happened between him and Kagome, sat inside in a stupor. Secretly jealous, the houshi sauntered down the dirt path and thought miserably of his pathetic excuse for a love life.

He had always thought he would be very successful, and when he met Sango, he was positive. But now his happiness had come crashing down around him along with the painful truth: Sango was going to find love in the arms of another.

Miroku crossed his arms over his rumpled robes, the cursed hand balled into a fist. His dark fringe hung over his violet eyes, shadowing them from view. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice a figure appear, as if by magic, in the tree above him.

"Are you the houshi they call Miroku?" came a baritone voice that cut through the air like a knife.

Miroku recognized the voice immediately, and took a step backwards. _"_Yes," he said. _"_And you are S—"

"You are a deceitful fool," said the voice before the houshi could expose him.

Miroku gave a start. "How dare you!" he shouted, outraged.

Amber eyes narrowed, and thin lips hidden behind white silk curled into a smirk at the houshi's ignorance. Satisfied, he stood up to go, but not before hissing, "You stupid, womanizing idiot."

"Stop it!" Miroku shouted furiously, placing his hands over his ears and curling into himself. What on earth was going on? Why did Sesshoumaru seem to hate him _so _much? A thought struck the houshi and Miroku blanched. This couldn't have anything to do with Sango... right? What had happened between the taijiya and the taiyoukai?

Sesshoumaru shook his head subtly. Before departing, however, the demon couldn't resist tossing one last comment at the poor, confused young man; one that Miroku knew all too well: _"_She detests you."

Miroku moaned softly, knowing now that Sesshoumaru had been talking about Sango, but his head snapped up when he heard branches rustle above him. Sesshoumaru was gone.

* * *

"I'm going to go back to the village," Kagome announced, standing and reaching for her towel.

Sango wasn't really paying attention, but she nodded. Her head was empty, light-headed, and it was pleasant. So, drained of both her energy and any intelligent thoughts, she slowly slunk down below the water. Kagome left a few minutes later. Sango didn't notice.

Just when it started to become too hot, and black splotches were appearing in Sango's vision, the taijiya decided to get out, and return to camp. With one arm wrapped protectively across her chest just in case some perverted houshi might come along, she stood, and grabbed her towel from the side.

She got out, quickly dried herself off with the towel, and, still wrapped in it, reached for her kimono. Unexpectedly, there came a great noise from above, in the trees. It startled the girl, and she clutched the towel to her tighter.

* * *

Sesshoumaru hopped off from tree to tree, satisfied with his chat with the houshi. Then, during his trek, the taiyoukai caught Sango's scent from off to his left. Curious to see if she was still upset, he jumped down and walked lightly through the trees until he could see her clearly.

Sesshoumaru's face turned scarlet.

* * *

Sango, sensing a presence, turned and peered into the darkness. "Who's there?" she called sharply. "Is that you, Kagome-chan?"

Sesshoumaru fought down his blush, and was preparing to leave when Sango emitted a small shriek. He turned, and took a step backward when he saw Sango staring at him through the trees, eyes wide.

_Shit…!_

Before he could run, the taijiya, picking up a rock, chucked it at the taiyoukai with a shriek of, "Pervert!"

"Sango," Sesshoumaru said, sounding strangely nervous, dodging the stone and stepping carefully out through the trees into plain sight. "You don't understand—"

"Get _away_!" Sango cried shrilly, hurrying away to hide behind a large rock. Red-faced and furious, the girl peeked out and ordered loudly, "Turn around, dammit!"

Sesshoumaru did what he was told, and whirled around immediately. Still flushed, the taiyoukai stared fixedly ahead, arm crossed over his chest in embarrassment.

There was a rustle of clothing, and the sound of a wet body slipping into dry clothes. Sesshoumaru's face reddened again. A few minutes later, apparently unaware of the taiyoukai's current state, Sango announced curtly, "You may turn around now."

Sesshoumaru turned slowly back, and regarded Sango with a stern eye to hide his no longer obvious embarrassment. But all was not perfect. Sango had not had a chance to dry off properly, and her kimono stuck to her like a second skin, exposing all those curves that were not that obvious in her usual kimono.

"Stop staring!" Sango snapped at him, stepping closer, obviously absolutely furious. "The last thing I need is another _stupid _idiot peeping at me while I'm in the bath!"

Sesshoumaru raised a brow, surprised. Another_ stupid idiot? _His eyes narrowed. _Houshi…_

Then, before he knew what was happening, Sango had raised her hand out of fury, and was bringing it down on his cheek, screaming all the while about stupid perverts.

The taiyoukai didn't mind letting her vent, but he would not stand to be slapped. Catching her hand an inch before it reached his face, he tugged her toward him and hissed in her face, "Human, I am not that houshi."

Noting that, for the first time in a while, he had called her 'human', Sango stared defiantly back at him, eyes narrowed. They stayed in that position for a full minute, until Sango snatched her hand back and turned her back. "I know that," she said finally. "But it's the kind of thing that _he _would do."

"Nevertheless," Sesshoumaru growled, nostrils flaring. "Besides, how was I to know that you were having a bath? I could not have known, and I did not."

"Of course," Sango agreed sarcastically, turning back toward him. "That's why you were staring."

Sesshoumaru shook his head in exasperation. Turning to leave, he said, "Believe what you want." His bright eyes flashed. "Do you honestly think I would _stare _at a human like you?"

Sango's mouth opened. "What a horrible thing to say!" she cried. "Then again, I would expect no less from _you_."

Within a matter of seconds, they were facing off forehead-to-forehead, snapping insults at each other with barely enough time to breath in between.

"Well, you better listen, you—"

"A weak human woman can't compare to the power of this Sesshoumaru."

"You're so stuck up! I could defeat you!"

"Who's the conceited one?"

"You perverted monster!"

"Stop comparing me to that damn houshi, woman!"

Sango stopped short, and pulled away. "I-I wasn't," she spluttered.

Sesshoumaru's annoyed face loomed in front of her once more. "Don't lie to me," he snapped, ignoring their obvious proximity.

"Step down from your throne, demon. It's not my fault that _you _were peeking at me in the bath, and it's not my fault that it is something _he_ would do," Sango snarled, irritated once more.

"It is your fault, however, when you start turning every little accident into something that 'he' would do. Do you miss him that much?" Sesshoumaru asked. His heart thumped painfully at the thought of her missing that useless houshi, but he fought it down. "Well?" he demanded at her silent figure.

Sango bowed her head. _I don't miss him! I don't! _She paused. _Right? _Glancing away and biting her lip, the taijiya thought, _I can't be missing him! That's stupid! He betrayed me… I do_ not_ want him back!_

Sesshoumaru, tiring of her contemplation, grabbed her hand and forced her to look up. Knowing his eyes were betraying him, the taiyoukai said levelly, "Don't force yourself to hate him, huntress."

He backed up; not realizing her hand was still encased in his. He was perfectly happy to depart, not realizing that he would be leaving a shocked Sango both thinking of his words and the emotion she was positive she had seen in his eyes. But then, there was a rustle and a crash, and Inuyasha dropped onto the scene.

"Sango!" the hanyou cried, eyes wide and flickering between the taijiya, his brother, and their entwined hands. _Not again, _he thought angrily. Stepping forward, Inuyasha grabbed Sango's hand and ripped it out of Sesshoumaru's grasp. "Get away from her!" he warned furiously, shielding a shocked and motionless Sango.

Sesshoumaru glanced blankly at his hand. _Oh. _His amber orbs narrowed. "Be more respectful of your elder brother, Inuyasha," the taiyoukai replied evenly. "Or do I have you fight the impudence out of you?"

Inuyasha flung Sango back and drew Tetsusaiga. "Don't make me laugh!"

Sango tumbled backward and just before she was going to catch her balance, she collided with someone who gripped her sides, steadying her. The taijiya glanced back and when she saw the anguished face of the houshi, she immediately pulled away and shot him a glare. Inwardly red, Sango wondered how long they had been there, as she now saw Kagome appear through a net of closely-knit trees. She also wondered if they had been eavesdropping, and if they had heard Sango and Sesshoumaru's talk.

Miroku stared ruefully after Sango as she stalked off to where Kagome was timidly stepping out into the open. Inwardly, he was in turmoil. The three had been there for a while, ever since Inuyasha caught Sesshoumaru's scent and raced off to find the two talking. The hanyou had dashed back to tell he and Kagome what was happening, so they had set off immediately and had been listening since.

_Is it true? Does Sango not hate me after all? Does she really… miss me?_

Sango shot a glance at the houshi, displeased at his expression but confused as to its meaning. Suddenly, it dawned on her and her face paled. _He knows, _she thought, upset. _Oh, no… _Fixing her mouth in a hard line and raising her head high, she decided, _I'm not going __to take him back… even if I do miss him…_

* * *

"What were you doing?" Inuyasha demanded at Sango as Kagome bandaged up a deep cut in his back from his brief battle with Sesshoumaru. "Ouch!" The hanyou winced. "Watch it, Kagome!"

"Sorry," Kagome murmured timidly.

Inuyasha focused once more on Sango and asked irritably, "Why were you holding hands with my brother? Why does this keep happening, Sango?" When she didn't respond, his face screwed up in frustration and he snapped, "Answer!"

Sango shrugged. "Inuyasha, we've discussed this for long enough." She cast a weary glance at the hanyou. "Can we please drop it?"

"No!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "We can't! I want to know what you were doing with him. You've stalled for long enough, now I want to hear the truth."

"Inuyasha," interrupted Kagome, stepping back and putting away the bandages in her first-aid kit. "Please. Sango said she's had enough. I think we all have, so _please _drop the subject?"

Inuyasha, annoyed, looked at Miroku in hopes of the houshi siding with him, but the young man shook his head and the hanyou slunk down into a slouch, admitting defeat. "Fine," he grumbled. "Have it your way." His head shot up, and piercing amber eyes stole into Sango's. "But I want to know what is going on soon, yeah?"

"Sure," Sango murmured monotonously, and let the hut fall silent.

No one said anything for a good long time; they simply let the awkward silence ensue. The tense quiet was broken, however, when Kagome stood, claiming that dinner had to be prepared and that someone had to go and look for Shippo and Kirara, who had not returned from a long day of playing.

Then she pulled Inuyasha off, giving him the job of finding the two demons, while she hurried off to make supper, leaving Miroku and Sango alone in the hut.

"Do you really miss me, Sango?" Miroku asked after letting the silence reign for a good ten minutes.

Sango let out an inaudible growl. So they _had _been eavesdropping! "No," she lied. "I don't."

Miroku examined her with a scrutinizing gaze. "Are you sure?" he inquired. Flushing, he soon added, "I don't mean to sound conceited. It's just what I heard from Sesshoumaru's mouth."

"He read me wrong," Sango said levelly.

"Mm-hmm," Miroku agreed. He highly doubted that the great taiyoukai had made a mistake in his calculations, but he wasn't about to say so.

Sango nodded, doubting he believed her but pleased he obviously wasn't going to pry. Standing, the taijiya walked out, leaving Miroku alone with his thoughts, his doubts, and his doleful, unfortunate love for a strong maiden who had walked out of his life without a glance back.

* * *

Elsewhere, in a village where the only people to have seen the deserted ruins in years were a select group of misfits battling a dangerous demon, a strange patch of darkened soil rippled.

The leaves rustled in the trees, the calm aura disturbed, but, as no one was around, nothing more happened.

But then it rippled again, slowly at first. But then it sped up, until the ground was rocking with energy and movement. Then, out of the soiled dirt, came a hand. It ripped up through the ground and grasped at the roots of a dead plant that had died the moment the soil had turned black.

The hand was rotting and white bone showed clearly through the scant patches of pasty, wasting skin. Then, another appeared, with a similar disgusting appearance. They pulled up the body of something strange; it seemed almost shapeless as it rippled and blew in the cold wind. It was as if that silly little breeze threatened to tear it apart and scatter its remains to the skies.

"They thought I was finished," a voice like one thousand demon and humans combined garbled from the direction of the shapeless monster. "But they were _wrong_."

* * *

"What!" Kagome shrieked at the unfortunate farmer cowering before the schoolgirl and her friends.

"I said, miss, that K—"

"I heard what you said!" Kagome snapped at the intimidated commoner. "But are you serious? Kaede-san's grave has been desecrated?"

"Yes, miss, and what's more," the villager gulped at the verbal assault he was about to endure, but plowed on, "Kaede-sama's body… it's missing!"

"Missing?" all of the group shrieked as one, save Inuyasha, who merely looked surprised and nothing more.

"Yes. As of this morning," the man said, promptly bowing and retreating, the deed done.

"Who would do such a thing!" Kagome cried, turning on her friends, miserable and infuriated. "Why would they steal her body?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed. "Why would you steal the old hag's body? It's all old and wrinkled, while the body of that—"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed hotly. "Sit!"

Inuyasha crashed painfully to the ground, but that didn't stop his friends from hurrying to Kaede's grave. They found the space open and filth was piled around it; sure enough, the elderly miko's body was gone.

"Oh no," Kagome said, tears building in her eyes as she dropped to her knees before the defiled hole.

Sango sucked in a large breath and glanced around sorrowfully. "Who would do such a thing?" she murmured, bending over and picking up a stray piece of the worn kimono Kaede had been buried in.

"Well, they weren't neat about it," Miroku remarked, inspecting a pile of dirt. "And it looks like whoever did this was desperate. What say you, Sango?"

_Why is it always _meSango wondered before answering curtly, "I don't know. You're right, I suppose."

Miroku nodded, and glanced at Kagome, motionless beside the grave. He heard rustling in the trees, and looked away and up into the big one above just in time to see Inuyasha land on it.

Hopping down, the hanyou, not bothering to brush the dirt from his haori, stepped over to Kagome's crumpled form and, with narrowed eyes, examined the damage. He sighed, and shrugged. "What purpose could they possibly have stealing that crone's body?" he asked no one in particular.

Kagome's head whipped around, eyes bright with tears. "What do you know? Don't speak so disrespectfully about Kaede-san! Inuyasha, you _jerk_!"

Inuyasha, who had been steeling himself for another 'sit' command, shuffled his feet and looked at the ground, feeling guilty. "Sorry," he said after a long pause. "I just wonder why—"

"I do too!" Kagome snapped.

Inuyasha, cowed, stepped back to where Miroku was now kneeling, hands together before his young face, muttering a prayer.

* * *

"No one knows what could have happened," Sango told her friends, gathered before the taijiya like an eager flock of birds. The reaction was as she expected: both Kagome and Miroku sighed heavily, Inuyasha's brow furrowed just the tiniest bit, and Shippo hung his head miserably.

The little kitsune thought himself particularly at fault, as he had been puttering around the grave the day before Kaede's body was found to be missing. Shippo had left to play sometime in the evening, so now he felt that had he stayed, the old miko's body might have not been taken.

"Shippo," came Sango's voice soothingly as she knelt before him and put a comforting hand upon his head, "it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself, please."

"B-but," he choked, "now Kaede-baba's soul isn't at peace b-because her body isn't w-where it's supposed to b-be, and it's all my f-fault!"

Sango shook her head and didn't bother continuing in trying to console him. No matter what anyone said, Shippo held himself particularly responsible. No amount of 'Don't blame yourself,' was going to change that.

"I'm going for a walk," Inuyasha announced suddenly, promptly standing and making his way to the door.

"Why? Where?" Kagome inquired, leaning forward.

"Out," Inuyasha responded sullenly, brushing the curtain-like door aside.

"Out where?" Kagome pressed on.

"Just out," Inuyasha snapped crabbily.

_They act like they've been married for years, _Miroku observed humorously. He snorted with glee, and when he saw the glares that Inuyasha and Kagome were giving him, he stifled his laughter and decided not to share his thoughts.

Kagome wouldn't be quiet, so finally a fed-up Inuyasha snarled, "I just heard something about a demon off in the west, okay? Whole villages have been ransacked, and supposedly demons flock around that area—they sounded like they might be Naraku's demons, and that might mean that Naraku is somewhere near there."

"Then why are you going alone?" Kagome asked, shooting up and placing her hands on her hips. "We're coming with you, right, guys?"

Sango nodded, and squeezed Hiraikotsu's strap for comfort. Shippo jumped up onto Kagome's shoulder and also nodded resolutely. Kirara meowed and hopped onto the crown of Sango's head, while Miroku immediately stood up and boomed, "Let's go!"

Inuyasha, outwardly disgruntled but inwardly relieved, agreed and they set off westward at a brisk, even pace.

* * *

"How far away is this place?" Kagome wondered aloud the next day as Shippo trotted next to her. Her back was sore from sleeping on cold ground the night before, and she didn't want to travel that much further without another rest, so she glanced back to where Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku were lagging behind, and wearily asked the hanyou, "When can we rest again?"

"Tonight," was Inuyasha's answer.

Three groans echoed through the thick woods in which the group was traipsing. Kirara, Inuyasha and Shippo were perfectly able and perfectly happy to keep going, but they were demons. Miroku, Sango and Kagome (the ones who did the groaning) were humans, and their energy was almost gone.

"Well," Inuyasha said, looking around, "I think we're almost there, anyway."

"Good," Kagome sighed. "We should ask the people in the next village," she pointed ahead, where bamboo huts could be seen rising over the grassy horizon, "if they have been bothered by any demons."

"I agree," Miroku said, and squinted into the distance. "It doesn't look that far off."

Sango nodded, and hurried to the front, wanting to talk to Kagome. Just then, she noticed that Kagome had stopped dead, and that the futuristic miko's eyes were narrowed in concentration.

"What's wrong, Kagome?" Sango asked worriedly.

"A barrier," the girl informed her friend. "There is a barrier here."

"A barrier?" Inuyasha exclaimed, bounding up and examining the forest in front of them. He stepped a bit further, and the air around him rippled. "You're right, Kagome. Naraku _must_ be here… why else would a barrier be here?" He grinned wolfishly. "I'll break it with my Tetsusaiga!"

He drew the sword from its sheath and watched proudly as it transformed into the fearsome glowing fang. He raised it, and as he swung it downward, the sword turned blood red and slashed through the barrier, effectively cutting a way through.

"Feh," Inuyasha snorted, closing his eyes and swinging his precious sword back to rest on his shoulder. "Piece of cake. Let's go, guys!"

"Inuyasha!" came Kagome's cry from far ahead. "What are you doing? Hurry up!"

The hanyou's eyes snapped open and his mouth nearly dropped open as he saw his friends in the distance, impatiently waiting and beckoning to him before resuming running. "Wait!" he shouted, hurrying after them. "Wait for me, dammit!"

Sango wasn't listening. She was too busy hurrying ahead on Kirara. There was a grand house visible, silhouetted against the sun on the horizon. Willing Kirara to fly faster, the taijiya swore then and there that she would annihilate Naraku for destroying her family.

_Kohaku,_ she thought, and blinked away sudden tears. Her friends had been left behind minutes ago, and she didn't care. The horizon was swiftly approaching, and in a minute she jumped down off her faithful companion. She now stood before a grand castle.

"Naraku," she hissed.

"Sango!" came a recognizably soft voice from behind. The taijiya whirled around, and saw Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku and Shippo all on his back. The hanyou was wincing from the weight, but he was jumping resolutely toward Sango, and toward the castle.

"Are you all right?" Kagome asked once Inuyasha had stopped. The three climbed off the hanyou, who gave a huge sigh of relief, and the schoolgirl stepped toward her older friend. "You ran off so fast…"

"I'm… fine," Sango said, and jerked her head in the direction of the castle. "This has to be it."

"It is," Inuyasha confirmed. He sniffed the air, and shuddered. "The air is thick with Naraku's miasma." Covering his mouth with his red sleeve and motioning for the others to do the same, the hanyou plodded forward. But then, before anyone made another move toward the grand house, they heard hushed voices.

"Naraku," Miroku confirmed under his breath, and listened again. "And someone else?"

They crept up and as the voices got louder and clearer, it became obvious as to whom Naraku's visitor was. Sango clapped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming.

_Kohaku!_

_TBC_


	2. The Return of the King

**Chapter 2: The Return of the King**

Tears blurred Sango's vision, and Kagome wrapped an arm around her distractedly. _But how can this be? Kagura told us that Kohaku died, _the schoolgirl thought worriedly. She turned to Inuyasha, whose eyes were narrowed in concentration.

"So, you agree to this, Naraku?" came young Kohaku's voice.

_Kohaku is making some kind of deal with Naraku? _Miroku thought in confusion. _What's going on?_

"I suppose so," Naraku's voice said slowly, distrustfully. Suddenly a silence descended upon the castle, only to be broken by Naraku's deep voice a moment later: "We are not alone."

Inuyasha and the others shot up and scrambled backwards. They should have expected this, but they were so surprised by Kohaku that their discovery had not even occurred to them…

But now, forced back, Sango and her friends prepared for an assault. And they were going to get one.

Naraku, clothed in his usual, rather unimpressive gi and hakama stepped out, wavy ebony hair blowing in the wind. His piercing crimson eyes glowered at them from behind thick bangs, and he spoke: "It seems our usual troublesome guests have arrived, eh?"

Sango dreaded what was to come, and rightly so. For, in Naraku's footsteps, came her younger brother, eyes bright. "Ko… ha… ku," she choked, reaching forward. Kohaku stepped forward, a faint smile on his face, but when he came within reach of Sango's hand, she was promptly electrocuted and thrown back into her friends.

She collided with Inuyasha, and both tumbled to the ground. Sango's eyes were wide with shock and pain.

"I'm so sorry, Sango," came Naraku's jolly voice. "But the person standing before you is not your brother. He may have been before, but he isn't now. Now, he's my partner and someone you all should be very familiar with…"

"What!" Kagome exclaimed, helping Sango up. "What are you talking about, Naraku?"

"Is hearing another one of your many faults?" Naraku drawled.

Sango winced in pain and croaked at Kohaku, "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" The thing's eyebrows rose. "I thought you would have figured it out by now!" Its voice was slowly becoming deeper, and the strange thing was that it almost sounded like several different voices, of demons and humans, all rolled into one.

Then it dawned on them.

"Tohyama!" they all gasped at once.

"Impossible!" Miroku cried, shaking his head wildly. "You're lying. Liar! We _destroyed _you. You were no more than a pile of dirt! Sesshoumaru killed you!"

"Wrong. I made you think that Sesshoumaru killed me," the creature corrected. "I"—it grinned horribly—"am _not _so easy to kill."

Then, he exploded. A gassy fog blew out from where Tohyama, in Kohaku's body, had been standing. Miroku, Sango, and the rest hurried to cover their eyes and protect their heads as debris flew everywhere.

"Ha!" Inuyasha crowed, ducking to avoid a chunk of rock. "What happened? I don't know, I don't care, but he exploded! I don't believe it…"

The hanyou laughed, ignoring Naraku's calm expression until Kagome elbowed him and hissed, "Look at Naraku. Would he really be so calm? Tohyama is his 'partner', a valuable asset, as well as a good demon to _absorb_… why wouldn't he be surprised?"

Inuyasha paused and stared at Naraku's face, scrutinizing it, until he heard Sango's gasp. He whipped his head toward her and saw her gaze fixed on something in front of him. Slowly, dreading what he was about to find, Inuyasha turned back. His mouth dropped open. "N-no!" he spluttered.

Tohyama floated before them in all his hideous glory, and multiple tentacles snaking toward hanyou. He looked as he had right before he had faked his death: a monstrous floating creature with many sneaky, slippery green, blue and purple appendages. It was all too similar, with only one difference: the selection of heads on certain tentacles was _different _this time… "Greetings. Don't I look wonderful?" it croaked from the head in the center.

The same head in the center… _Kyo_…

But as far as they knew, Kyo's head had been blown to oblivion, but had that been faked too?

"No," Sango choked. Her knees collapsed beneath her and she crumpled to the ground, eyes wide and fixed upon one of the heads. "Kohaku," she sobbed, tears flowing freely and suddenly from her cinnamon orbs, for the child's head bobbed on the end of a jade appendage. Its eyes were drooping, and what was under the eyelids was dull and lifeless. "Kohaku!" Sango screamed, launching herself at Tohyama only to have Miroku pull her back.

"No, Sango, stop!" Miroku cried, latching onto her. It took all his strength to hold her back. "There's nothing you can do."

"Stop! Let me go, houshi!" Sango turned her tear-filled eyes on him. "That's my brother! Let me go, dammit!"

Miroku didn't let go.

Kagome bit her lip and looked from Sango to Kohaku's head. Her eyes absently roved over Tohyama's body, until they focused upon something that made her scream.

"Kaede-san!" she shrieked when she saw the old woman's head also floating eerily on the tip of one of Tohyama's olive tentacles. "You monster! It was _you_ who took her body! And Kohaku too!"

Tohyama smirked. "I needed a body. But then Naraku offered me… you called him Kohaku? Well, yes, he offered me Kohaku, and, obviously, the boy is much younger and much more able. The choice was obvious."

"You bastard!" Inuyasha snarled, unsheathing Tetsusaiga and raising it above his head. "Win—"

"No you don't!" Tohyama growled, and whipped out a fiery strip of energy that tore toward Inuyasha with a vengeance.

"Perfect!" Inuyasha cried, and followed that up by shouting, "Backlash Wave!" The hanyou's stronger attack made its way to turn Tohyama's strike back on its owner, and Inuyasha watched in satisfaction. But then, his attack disappeared, and the fire kept tearing toward him like a bolt of lightning with a target. "No! What happened to my Backlash Wave!" was all he had the chance to say before Tohyama's attack ripped through him and threw him to the dirt, unconscious.

"_Inuyasha!" _Kagome shrieked loudly, rushing over and shaking the hanyou wildly, all the while pleading for him to wake up. "Please, wake up," she sobbed. "Inuyasha, don't do this! Come on! _Wake up_!"

"He's not going to," Naraku commented from the sidelines. Eyeing Tohyama, he remarked, "You look quite," he paused, and cleared his throat, "impressive."

Tohyama nodded and sneered, "What about _you_, Naraku? Is that"—Tohyama sniffed disdainfully and tossed his head in the direction of Naraku's human form—"your true form?"

Naraku, disgruntled, said, "No," and warned Tohyama with narrowed crimson eyes that he would do well to watch what he said, or their deal would be off in a heartbeat.

"Very well," Tohyama conceded, their intruders seemingly forgotten.

Sango, enraged, bellowed, "I will avenge Kohaku!" She all but tore Hiraikotsu off its straps and slung it toward the face in the center of the disgusting creature with a cry of, "Hiraikotsu —!"

It never got to its destination, for Tohyama caught it with one snaking tentacle. Kyo's face grinned. "Nice try, Sango," it purred.

"Damn," Sango muttered, furiously wiping at the angry tears that threatened to course down her cheeks unchecked once more. Tohyama, grinning, tossed her boomerang back at her. Easily managing to avoid it (it winded up almost hitting the unfortunate Miroku), Sango hurried to draw her katana and charged forward in a crude attempt to strike the demon down.

Tohyama, displeased, raised an appendage to strike her, but, not wishing for Sango to be wounded, Miroku grabbed her middle and yanked her backward. She was shouting herself hoarse all the while.

Naraku smirked at the houshi's antics and nodded to his partner. They both charged, causing Shippo to run and hide, Kirara to growl, Miroku and Sango to stop bickering and turn to fight, and Kagome to squeak in fear, shooting a horridly aimed arrow at Naraku or Tohyama—it could not been determined which.

"Die!" both villains shrieked as one, delivering fierce attacks that forced their opponents to cower in fear.

"I have waited too long for this moment!" Naraku cried, throwing countless tentacles at them from under his hakama.

"Despicable wretches!" screeched Tohyama. _"Die!"_

"I will not die!" screamed Kagome, putting another arrow to her bow and shooting it, this time with more accuracy. It struck one of Tohyama's thicker appendages, and it, along with several surrounding it, were purified and obliterated.

Tohyama hissed in pain and drew back so he and Naraku could pull another deadly double attack. Sango and the others pulled away out of weakness. Their strongest fighter was unconscious, Kagome was now so scared she could barely see straight (no less shoot straight), and Sango and Miroku were doing the best they could, but, admittedly, it wasn't much. Shippo wasn't of any use hiding behind a tree, and Kirara couldn't do much against Naraku's poisonous tentacles, and she didn't want to try her luck with Tohyama.

So they retreated.

Scared, shaken, and at a disadvantage against the two toughest adversaries the group had ever faced, Sango, Miroku and Kagome grabbed Inuyasha, heaved him up onto Kirara along with Shippo, and they took off.

_We're cowards, _Sango thought bitterly as she sprinted alongside Kagome.

* * *

"How are we going to defeat him?" Miroku mused.

Sango had known since they had sat down to rest half-an-hour ago. "Sesshoumaru," she said immediately.

Inuyasha, now half-conscious, started in surprise and mumbled, mouth dry, "Wh-what!"

Sango stared back at him. "You heard me," she said flatly. "Sesshoumaru."

"No way!" Inuyasha cried, shooting up and regretting it when his wound throbbed. Squeezing his eyes shut until the pain had dimmed, the hanyou grumbled, "I can do it."

"Can you?" Sango said skeptically. Her expression hardened. "Put aside your pride."

"He'll never agree," Inuyasha said, crossing his arms lightly over his chest.

Kagome's eyes skimmed between her two friends. "Please," she pleaded, "don't fight. Maybe"—she gulped, knowing she was going to regret the decision—"Sango's right. We should get Sesshoumaru."

"What!" Inuyasha shrieked. "Not you too, Kagome!" But she shook her head and he glanced at Miroku, who looked back, defeated. "What say you, houshi?"

"I'm afraid that Sango may be right. Sesshoumaru is all we've got," Miroku said gravely.

"You've got to be kidding," Inuyasha groaned.

"I'm not." Sango scurried into a warm hole to sleep. "In the morning, we'll all search," she said, mid-yawn.

* * *

"I will not help," growled Sesshoumaru, towering over the crew as Rin and Jaken huddled behind him.

Sango stepped stubbornly toward him, despite Inuyasha's growing suspicions of something happening between them. "Please," Sango said beseechingly. "You didn't manage to kill him last time. Don't you want to give it another shot?"

That struck something in Sesshoumaru's heart. Furious, he went, "Hmph. Do not speak such nonsense. I have no interest in killing Tohyama. That demon has done nothing to me."

"Yes, that demon has nothing to do with him," Jaken echoed. "Leave milord alone!"

"Yeah," she agreed, and looked to the side, whispering to herself, "But the pain he has caused Kohaku and myself…"

Those words were meant for Sango alone, but Sesshoumaru's sharp ears immediately picked them up, and he shuffled uncomfortably at the prospect. It wasn't enough to make him want to kill the creature… was it? But Sesshoumaru was bristling inwardly. Apparently, it was.

"Perhaps," he said after a long silence. "You said Naraku is working with him?"

Sango nodded, surprised that he seemed to be giving the idea another shot.

"Well, it would be a good chance to get rid of them both," he said slowly, arms crossed over his chest.

Inuyasha stared on, open-mouthed, sure that he had made the decision because of Sango (for Inuyasha had also heard the taijiya's words), and sure that there was something between them. "Sesshoumaru," he exclaimed, pushing past Sango and sticking his nose in his brother's face. "What's wrong with you?"

Sesshoumaru growled softly. "The fact that you are in my face," the taiyoukai snarled, pushing his brother back.

* * *

"How far is this castle that you speak of?" Sesshoumaru asked gruffly as he walked alongside Sango, for she was the one he felt most comfortable with. He had ordered Rin and Jaken to stay behind for the sake of their safety, and so had no one to grumble to.

"Not far," Sango told him quietly. She glanced at Kagome. "Right?"

The schoolgirl nodded. "It shouldn't be too far from here."

"I hope 'not too far' doesn't turn out to be another day's walk," Sesshoumaru snarled.

"It's not our fault that we had to search for you!" Inuyasha snapped, turning around and pointing at his brother. "Had you been where you were _supposed _to be—"

"Where I was supposed to be?" Sesshoumaru repeated, incredulous. "And where's that, may I ask?" He glowered at his young sibling and grabbed the hilt of the Tokijin. Inuyasha did the same with Tetsusaiga.

"Now, now!" Sango said desperately, hurrying between them. "Please, stop fighting. I'm sure we'll be there soon enough."

_The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife, _Miroku thought, stealing a glance at the two bickering brothers and the woman in between them. It had been that way for two days. The journey had seemed shorter when they were searching for Sesshoumaru, rather than Naraku's hidden castle.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to him, and he groaned aloud. Sango and Sesshoumaru turned from where the taijiya had been calming the taiyoukai, convincing him not to go at Inuyasha, Inuyasha turned from where he had been scowling at Sesshoumaru, and Shippo, Kirara and Kagome turned from where the schoolgirl had been watching the two small demons play.

"What is it, Miroku?" Kagome asked earnestly.

"It's Naraku's castle," he moaned. "I've been wondering why the trip seemed so much shorter when we were searching for Sesshoumaru. He's moved, of course!"

Inuyasha swore under his breath, showing that he agreed. Kagome gasped, along with Shippo. Kirara's head drooped dejectedly. Sango slapped her forehead and cursed Naraku and Tohyama, while Sesshoumaru became furious.

"You mean," the taiyoukai growled, "that I've been traveling with you lot for no reason?" He snorted. "I don't believe it."

"Believe it," Miroku said grimly. "What idiots we were… this is the infamous _Naraku_ we're talking about!"

"He couldn't have gone too far," Shippo said hopefully. "Right, Kagome?" He glanced at the schoolgirl for backup, and she gave him a weak smile that showed that she didn't believe it.

Sango heaved a huge sigh. "How troublesome," she mumbled. "We'll never find him now." She turned to Sesshoumaru, an apologetic expression on her face. "I'm sorry to have dragged you out here for no reason, Sesshoumaru."

"You should be," he huffed, nostrils flaring.

"Sango," Inuyasha cut in, striding over and placing himself obnoxiously between the two. "You really don't have to apologize to the likes of _him. _After all, what has he ever done for you?"

Sango was silent. Sesshoumaru growled softly under his breath, but said nothing. Miroku let out a barely audible sigh, and stared at the ground.

Inuyasha smirked confidently. "Exactly." With that, he turned to his brother and made a shooing motion with his hands. "You can go now." For good measure, he then added, "We don't need you. We can defeat Naraku and Tohyama on our own."

"You can, can you?" Sesshoumaru drawled. "Last time I checked, you were all but begging me for help!"

"Well, it wasn't my idea!" snapped Inuyasha angrily. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, and his hanyou sibling spat, "It was Sango's! I didn't want to!"

"Sango?" Sesshoumaru repeated softly, with a little wonder. He glanced over at the taijiya in surprise, a little pleased.

"Yeah," Sango agreed in an off-hand manner. "You almost killed him last time, so I thought it would be best…" She was highly uncomfortable, as she could feel his stare. _Why is he staring at me? _she thought. It made her heart feel funny.

"How I hate to interrupt such an sweet moment!" came an all too familiar voice, streaming in with a thick fog.

The heads of the companions snapped up. "Tohyama!" they cried in unison. Then, riding on a thick tentacle like it was a chariot, came Naraku, clothed in his baboon skin.

"Naraku," Sango spoke furiously. "You gave my brother away like some prize!" she hollered at him. "You monster!"

He smirked under the head of his disguise. "Sango, I'm terribly sorry," he purred.

"We thought," Tohyama said, interrupting the seething Sango, who had been about to shout a comeback, "that instead of letting you take days—weeks, even—to find us, we'd come to you. Wasn't that nice of us?"

"Very nice," Sesshoumaru said, eyes narrowed in pleasure. "Very nice, indeed… you came to your death!"

"Sesshoumaru-_sama_," Naraku said, slightly surprised. "I'm surprised to see you traveling with such vermin. You are usually so… um… _well accompanied_." He smirked.

"It'd be wise to keep your filthy mouth shut," the taiyoukai said venomously, immediately unsheathing Tokijin.

Naraku shook his head. "Touchy, touchy…"

Tohyama, on the other hand, was far from amused. He stared at Sesshoumaru with a mix of scorn, admiration, and fear. "Not you," he mumbled, fixing the demon with an icy glare.

"Yes. I," Sesshoumaru said proudly.

Naraku hopped down from the appendage and slid into a low bow. He opened his mouth to speak, and then did, boasting about his strength. So confident was he, and so interested in his own affairs, that he did not notice several of Tohyama's tentacles creeping up behind him until it was too late.

Sango's mouth dropped open. Miroku gaped and grabbed his cursed wrist. Inuyasha smirked, while Kagome and Shippo stared in a mix of horror and surprised happiness.

The appendages closed in around Naraku, and the hanyou spun around to face his so-called partner with a shout of, "Tohyama, what are you doing!"

Tohyama smirked in response and drew Naraku in, covering him in tentacles from head to toe until he could not be seen. There was a terrible sucking noise and Tohyama's tentacles parted. There was nothing inside. "I have just absorbed you, isn't it obvious?" the demon laughed. The eyes in Kyo's head went suddenly wide and the demon shot up into the sky, roaring with mirth. "Such power!" he chortled. "I had no idea Naraku had been so powerful!"

"Oh… no," Sango breathed. She shut her eyes, hoping to see Naraku alive when she opened them. Not something she thought she would ever hope for. But, alas, when she reopened her cinnamon orbs, Tohyama was still there, laughing maniacally before her and her friends.

Miroku heard funny whistling sounds from his cursed hand, and all but ripped off the rosary beads. The cloth came apart, and he saw the wind tunnel slowly close up and then—it disappeared completely. The houshi dropped to his knees. "M-my…"

"Houshi-sama," Sango couldn't help but ask, if a little icily, "what's wrong?"

"Sango," he said, short of breath, "look!" Shoving his hole-less hand in her face, and listening to her squeak of surprise when she prepared to be sucked in when he said, "Naraku… he is dead so—"

"Your wind tunnel," Sango completed, "is gone."

The houshi glanced up at the sky, eyes full of tears, and laughed. "Yes," he said, grasping his curse-less arm.

* * *

Kagura, flying over a random expanse of green forest on her white feather, suddenly stopped and clutched at her chest. "M-my heart," she stammered. "I can feel it beating in my chest…" She glanced up at the sky, and whispered, "Does that mean that Naraku is finally dead?

* * *

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "For such a thing," he said softly. "You deceived him, made him believe you were his partner, all for this? All so you could absorb him?"

"I'm not complaining," Inuyasha said darkly.

Sesshoumaru nodded curtly, showing for once that he agreed with his younger sibling. "Indeed," he commented, taking a step toward the gloating demon in the sky. "Come down, coward, and face me like the noble demon you _aren't_."

Tohyama gave him a withering look and said airily, "A one-on-one fight, then?"

Sesshoumaru, a little surprised but not about to show it, nodded and drew his Tokijin. "But," he questioned dryly, "how do you expect to fight this Sesshoumaru with a body like that?"

"I'm not going to," came the answer, and a millisecond later, Tohyama was enveloped in a bright pearly light. When the light dimmed, and Sesshoumaru put the sleeve shielding his sensitive amber eyes down, Kyo dropped down to the ground, a long katana in hand.

"Kyo," Sango breathed, watching as the young man stepped down upon the ground and smiled broadly.

"This katana," he said softly, "is a favourite of mine." The demon in disguise took one step toward Sesshoumaru, who raised a challenging eyebrow. "It's named is Tenro, and it has served me well." Kyo shot the taiyoukai a devilish smile. Raising his sword above his head, eyes wild, Kyo charged with a cry of, _"Die!"_

Sesshoumaru easily dodged his attack and countered immediately with a blow to his side. Kyo did a quick flip back and took his sword in his mouth so he could slip a small knife that had been hidden in his sleeve out. The demon threw the weapon with perfect accuracy—it was so fast that Sesshoumaru didn't realize it was coming at him until it was too late. Pain spiraled up his arm.

"Nnnn…" Sesshoumaru reached up and jerked the knife out of his upper arm, staunching the flow of blood with his hand. "Bastard," he growled.

_I can't stand by and watch this any longer, _Sango thought, not knowing the others were thinking the same. "Hiraikotsu!" she bellowed, launching her weapon at Kyo. "Yes!" she cried triumphantly as it whizzed toward its target in a perfect arc. But then there was a slight crash, and Sango's mouth dropped open.

"This is my battle," Sesshoumaru snapped as he threw Sango's boomerang back at her. He bared his fangs furiously and growled, "Keep out of it, wench!" Those words threw any ideas to intervene that the others had out the window, and they retreated into the shadows to watch.

"Yes," Kyo said silkily. "Weren't you listening? This battle is one-on-one, you dishonorable wretch."

"Well—you—I—" Sango spluttered. "How dare you!" she shrieked when she had regained her composure. "You, who had hidden a dagger in your sleeve! That's low, so don't preach to me!"

"I'm not preaching, Sango, my dear," Kyo purred, stepping toward her. "Tell me, when have you not had a hidden weapon in a battle? What about the blades in your sleeves, hmm?"

Sango flinched, and drew her katana. "Shut up!" she snarled.

Sesshoumaru turned to the taijiya and shot her a glare that told her to hush, and turned back to the smirking demon before him. "Die, you deceitful monster," he hissed. "You've no right to insult…" Sesshoumaru paused. _Choose your words carefully, _he thought, for he had been about to say Sango, and that would have been very unwise indeed. "… me," he finished.

Kyo grinned, and the taiyoukai knew that his opponent knew what he had been about to say. To make sure he would keep his silence, Sesshoumaru straightened up, held Tokijin at arm's length before him, and bellowed, "Dragon Strike!"

"Augh!" Kyo screeched, crossing his arms over his face to protect him. He was indeed blown back; he skidded backwards about 60 feet, but somehow escaped almost completely unharmed.

"No," Sesshoumaru whispered hoarsely. _What happened? Why didn't my Dragon Strike injure him?_

Suddenly, a shocked, deep voice invaded the battle with a cry of, "What's going on? Are you here, Sango? Sango!" The figure coming toward her fought through the thick, fog-like miasma and Sango let out a shriek of surprise.

Letting out an annoyed growl, Tohyama—Kyo, whatever you wish to call him—snapped his fingers and immediately disappeared in a puff of poisonous smoke, leaving Sango to her unexpected guest.

"Y-you!" Sango stammered, taking a step backward.

The young king beamed at her. "Sango, my dear, if I may ask—who was that impertinent fellow…" The nobleman, dressed in bright and slightly ridiculous colors, paused and looked about. "Goodness! He's gone!"

"Kuranosuke-kun," Sango breathed.

Sesshoumaru watched warily, Tohyama forgotten. He hadn't even noticed that the demon had disappeared. All he noticed now was Takeda Kuranosuke, and the taiyoukai took an immediate dislike to him.

"Sango-chan!" Kuranosuke boomed, rushing over and taking her hands in his. Sango's face immediately went red, and she began to speak, but the lord cut her off with, "How long I've waited to see you!"

Miroku crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring Kagome's elbow jammed in his side. "You don't really have the right to be jealous anymore," she hissed to him.

"Of course I do, what are you talking about?" Miroku snapped back. "I love her!"

Of course, Sesshoumaru caught every word of this, and he was not pleased, but he didn't give any sign of it.

"Kuranosuke-kun," Sango said nervously, shifting her weight around and giving a weak attempt to pull her hands from his. "Where… how did you…?"

"Sango-chan," Kuranosuke laughed merrily, "I just had a strange feeling that I just had to see you! I was in the area, and heard your sweet voice. I have missed you so!"

Sango smiled nervously. "And I you," she lied softly.

_Who is that? _Sesshoumaru thought to himself. His sensitive nose wrinkled in distaste for the young man standing in front of the taijiya.

From where he had been laughing uproariously at nothing in particular, Kuranosuke paused and squeezed Sango's hands. "Now, onto more serious matters. Sango-chan, I insist you come with me, back to my castle."

"What?" Kagome spluttered. "You just got here!"

"I know," the lord sighed. "But the time I spent with Sango was so pleasant that I couldn't forget, and began to long for her company. Each passing day became a trial without her by my side." Kuranosuke straightened and boomed confidently, "Sango-chan, don't make me beg! Return to my castle and become my wife!" He leaned forward until he and the taijiya were nose-to-nose. "I love you!"

Sesshoumaru almost took a step forward, but steeled himself; inwardly fuming while his outward appearance remained stony. _What right does he have, to claim such strong feelings for her? Who is he?_

"I-I-" Sango stammered, "I don't know! Please, Kuranosuke-kun, a few days?"

"Of course," the king conceded. He smiled. "I shall come for you in three days. Where shall you be?"

"I shall be," Sango bit her lip and jerked her head to the right, where a village could just be seen through the fog, "in that village." She looked hopefully up at her friends. "Right?"

Kagome smiled. "Sure."

Inuyasha grunted.

Miroku nodded and said, "I shall perform my finest 'exorcism'."

Kuranosuke released his hold on Sango and bowed low. "I shall see you then," he glanced up to meet her eyes, and his crinkled in a warm smile, "Sango-chan."

Sango nodded half-heartedly, and watched as he disappeared through the fading fog, to where an extravagant carriage could be seen. He got in, shouted something to the driver, and they were off. As soon as they vanished from sight, Sango heaved a long sigh. "I can't believe it," she said to herself. "And now, with Naraku dead, there is nothing to stop me marrying him."

"Who was that?" Sesshoumaru inquired lazily, trying his best to sound uninterested, and he was successful; his voice rang with bored indifference.

"That was Takeda Kuranosuke," Sango whispered, eyes fixed on the ground. She glanced up, and said, "He is a young prince who wishes to marry me."

"Yes, I can tell that much," Sesshoumaru snapped.

* * *

The moon shined brightly upon a fancy inn, and the occupants inside. The window above Sango's head allowed the moon's rays to cover her form, and she turned away from the bright light, wide-awake.

_What am I to do? _she thought miserably. Glancing up, she could see Rin's small form curled up in peaceful sleep—for she and Jaken had joined them when they had returned from that despicable battle—and Kagome, hunched over on the futon beside Rin's. To her friend, Sango whispered, "Kagome. Kagome? Are you awake? Kagome!"

"Nnnn…" Kagome murmured, rolling over but not opening her eyes.

"Kagome?" Sango repeated. "Are you awake or aren't you?"

"No," the schoolgirl grumbled groggily. "I'm not awake."

Sango sighed heavily and muttered, "Oh…"

Kagome groaned and sat up slightly. "Oh, Sango, you just woke me from the most fantastic dream…"

"Let me guess," Sango said dryly, "Inuyasha proposed?"

Kagome blushed so red that it could be seen even in the darkness. "No," she said indignantly. "I got all the problems on my math exam right." Sango shook her head, and Kagome inquired, "So, what's wrong? Why are you still awake?"

Sango shifted her weight around and sighed again. "Guess," she said sadly.

"Miroku?"

Sango shook her head, and Kagome understood.

"Takeda-sama?"

Sango nodded, and Kagome looked on sympathetically.

"I don't love him," Sango admitted. She glanced up at Kagome and said, "I suppose it sounds pretty harsh out loud, huh?" She shook her head. "But I don't know _what _to do…"

_I guess Miroku isn't really an obstacle anymore, _Kagome thought, biting her lip and sitting up properly. "Do what your hearts tells you to do," she preached confidently, as if expecting this to solve all her friend's problems.

Sango smiled dryly and looked down, absently twirling a lock of dark hair around her finger. "My heart," she murmured. "Well, my mind tells me to marry him, after all, he has money, charm, looks… but my heart on the other hand… my heart is telling me not to, of course." She glanced up. "That still doesn't solve my problem, though."

Kagome nodded. "Yeah," she said, stifling a yawn. "Sleep on it, Sango," she suggested sleepily. "Maybe you'll know what to do in the morning."

"Yeah," Sango echoed, watching Kagome pull the covers up to her chin and roll over. The taijiya did the same, with a last whisper of, "Maybe."

* * *

"Where did Sesshoumaru go?" Kagome inquired the next morning at breakfast.

Inuyasha shrugged and said darkly, "He didn't sleep here, that's for sure. I have a feeling that he's still around, though." Stuffing food into his mouth, the hanyou looked around. "Where's Sango?" he asked through a mouthful of food.

"Still sleeping?" Shippo suggested.

They did not know that at that moment, Sango was roaming the woods nearby in a thin white yukata, stumbling around as if in sleep.

* * *

"Ugh," Sango murmured, stopping to rest by a tree. "I didn't get any sleep last night." She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "How did I even get out here? I must have been sleepwalking…"

When the taijiya had woken up that morning, she had been wandering around the forest like a drunkard. Now she was completely lost, and freezing, as the sun had barely risen in this dark wood.

"Oh, god," she said miserably, slumping down against the trunk and putting her head in her hands. "Never mind the forest, what about Kuranosuke-kun?"

"A man sending your heart into chaos has no merit to claim it, huntress," came a baritone voice from the tree she was leaning against.

Sango immediately knew who it was, and when he dropped down beside her, she did not smile, but merely said his name. "Sesshoumaru," the taijiya said evenly. "What right do you have to say such things? You, who have been denying all traces of human emotion!"

Her sharp tongue caught him off guard, and for a second, Sesshoumaru saw past Sango's rough exterior, to the confused and jaded taijiya within. He sat next to her, surprising her.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, immediately standing.

He stood too. "Why are you so worked up about this prince?" he asked nosily. "What does he matter? You do not love him, so say no."

"Why are you so worried about it?" Sango shot back, hands on her hips.

Sesshoumaru paused, carefully contemplating his next words. He had already said far too much; he had never expected keeping feelings a secret to be such difficult business.

"Well?" Sango demanded. The sun was rising behind the demon before her, lighting his hair with a golden glow, and the wind sent it swirling around him. His eyes were bright and penetrating, and fixed on her. _Oh, _Sango thought. _He _is_ handsome. _It had never struck her that Inuyasha's elder brother was remotely good-looking before now, after all, he was a demon, and she was a demon exterminator.

But now the fact was painfully obvious to her, and Sango's face almost reddened in the new light. The funny feeling she had felt in her heart when Sesshoumaru had been staring at her before returned, this time stronger than before.

"You are staring at me." His voice cut through the silence like a knife, and Sango squeaked and averted her gaze.

"Sorry," she muttered, and lied, "I was miles away."

Sesshoumaru nodded slowly, smelling her lie. "I will take you back to the village," he said, and quirked a brow when she glanced up, wide-eyed. "What? You are lost, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am!" Sango said in a rush. "Thank you!" she gushed. "Will you… err… take me on your back?" _Déjà vu, _she thought, remembering a time long ago when she was in a similar predicament.

"No, I will not," Sesshoumaru replied with a hint of anger in his voice, thinking the same thing. "You will follow me. I trust this time you will not be led away by an image of a dead loved one, like last time?"

"Well, we're not in Hakumei Takai, are we?" Sango snapped, annoyed at his blunt way of speaking.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his amber eyes and swept toward a small path in between a patch of closely-knit trees, leaving Sango to jump after him, calling all the while.

* * *

"Phew," panted Sango, on her knees in the dirt, out of breath. Cold wind ripped through her yukata, and goose bumps rose on her flesh. "That… was a long way." She glanced up, to where the stubborn taiyoukai was standing before her in the usual pose: back straight, legs set shoulder-width apart, eyes narrowed, arms crossed over his chest… "Thanks." She smiled.

"It was no trouble," he said monotonously. He glanced over in the direction from where they had come, and murmured, "I suppose I should be leaving. I will take Rin and Jaken with me."

"Oh," Sango said. "Well, good-bye, then."

"We might run into each other sometime soon," Sesshoumaru said boredly, glancing at her.

"I doubt it," Sango sighed, and Sesshoumaru quirked a brow. "Well, I've decided to go back to Kuranosuke-kun's castle…"

"What?" Sesshoumaru asked, barely managing to keep his composure and not leap at her. "You've decided to marry him?"

"No, no," Sango said hurriedly, surprised by Sesshoumaru's interest in the subject. She stood, and explained, "I'm going to his castle, I never said I was marrying him."

Sesshoumaru shifted uncomfortably. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _he thought angrily, furious to have revealed so much emotion.

* * *

"Kagome!" Sango cried, waving at her friend as she hurried toward her.

"Sango!" Kagome gasped, grabbing a blanket on the way and throwing it around the taijiya's shoulders. "You must be freezing!" Kagome clucked in a motherly way, and glanced up when she heard footsteps approaching. "Oh…"

Sango, confused, looked back and saw, to her surprise, that Sesshoumaru had followed her back to the inn. "Sesshoumaru," Sango exclaimed. "I thought you were leaving with Rin and Jaken!"

"They enjoy your company," Sesshoumaru said blankly.

Sango blinked. "What made you change your mind?"

"There is something I have to do."

Sango smiled. "I see." She shivered, said, "I've got to change," and followed Kagome to the hut, leaving Sesshoumaru out there alone.

The taiyoukai sighed. _What a fool I am… _Having nothing better to do (he lied about having something to do), he hopped up into a tree, closed his eyes, and prepared himself for a torturous two days.

Inside the bamboo hut, Sango sighed happily as she slipped into warm clothes, abandoning her yukata for her usual kimono. She sat in the hut by Kagome's side, and the two talked about nothing.

Though she was an active part of the conversation, truly, Sango was miles away.

* * *

"What are you going do to about Kuranosuke?" Miroku asked the next evening over dinner. Kagome had not yet heard from Sango what she was going to do, so the schoolgirl leaned forward, deeply curious.

"I'm going to go back to his castle," Sango intoned flatly.

"Oh." Kagome bit her lip, and glanced at her dear friend through the corner of her eyes. _Sango… is this what you really want?_

"What?" Miroku exclaimed heatedly, almost knocking his supper over. "You aren't going to marry him, are you, Sango?"

The taijiya fixed him with an icy glare, but before she could answer, Kagome interrupted with a shrill, forced laugh.

"Oh, Inuyasha!" the girl squawked. "I just forgot—hahaha—I left something in the other hut. Hahaha! Isn't that hilarious?" Leaping up, Kagome grabbed Inuyasha by the neck of his haori and hauled him to his feet, all the while exclaiming, "Come with me to get it, Inuyasha! Hahaha!" With that, she dragged him out the door.

Inuyasha, screeching and struggling desperately, was forced to leave his food by Kagome's sheer strength, and he was pulled out in the village, screaming for his dinner. But then the hut was silent, as Shippo had hurried out to see what the _hell _was the matter with Kagome, and Kirara wasn't making a sound.

"So?" Miroku demanded, knowing well Kagome had plotted to leave the two alone. "Are you going to marry him?"

Sango sniffed at him disdainfully. "Maybe," she said, picking at her food.

"You are actually considering it!"

"You seemed perfectly happy to let me go last time!" Sango snapped. "Why are you so upset this time?"

"I was very upset last time!" Miroku spluttered.

"No, you weren't!" Sango argued. "Don't you remember? You said you wished me happiness, and all that crap, but you said nothing to try and _stop _me! And there I was, so desperate for your heart that I was hoping against hope that you would at least try, like you _didn't_!"

"Sango," Miroku said, trying to calm her, "I'm so sorry. I was in so much pain inwardly, but I thought—rationally, I might add—that you would have been much happier with him than out fighting Naraku!"

_"Are you crazy?" _Sango stood up, furious. "Goddammit, Miroku," he relished in the sound of his name on her lips once more, "I _loved _you! I didn't want to leave!" She narrowed her eyes. "And don't forget, you fool of a houshi, Naraku destroyed my family and took control of Kohaku! Why would I just want to give up the search? Why would I want to stop trying to save my brother? Answer me that!"

"I-I don't know," Miroku admitted. "I just thought that he would bring you happiness—"

"Don't you listen?" Sango exclaimed, her anger dissipating along with her energy. She slunk to the floor.

"Don't marry him," Miroku pleaded, bending over next to her and staring earnestly into her eyes. "You still have things to fight for. Will you give up on killing Tohyama, after all he's done to you? He _killed _you, Sango! If it weren't for Sesshoumaru, you wouldn't be here right now!"

The last sentence of Miroku's speech had been so bitter that it made Sango look up, knowing he was jealous of the dog demon.

"Sesshoumaru," Sango repeated as Miroku's words played over and over again in her head. _If it weren't for Sesshoumaru, you wouldn't be here right now! If it weren't for Sesshoumaru…_

"I'm going out," the taijiya announced, pushing Miroku back and standing up again.

He landed on his backside and inquired, "Where to?" When she didn't answer, he figured it out. _To see Sesshoumaru. _A bitter smile crossed the houshi's face as he watched Sango stalk out of the hut._Always to see Sesshoumaru._

Sango, now far calmer than she had been during her fit of rage in the hut, glanced up into the trees in hope to find the taiyoukai situated in one. She had rarely been so angry with anyone, save Naraku and Tohyama, but that was to be expected. But at the houshi, who had once been held so dear? Sure, she had been angry with him before, but those were just silly arguments that ended five seconds after they began.

Finally she found him, the demon that had caused her so much trouble in the past. "Sesshoumaru," she called up into the green tree. When he didn't respond, she wondered aloud, "Is he _sleeping_?"

"I don't sleep."

The taijiya jumped in surprise, and then smiled. "Sure you don't," she said playfully, peering up into the foliage, where she could just see the outline of his figure.

"What do you want, Sango?" Sesshoumaru asked boredly. He did not know when he had left behind 'woman' and 'human' for 'Sango', but it didn't really matter. It came to him naturally now, calling her by her true name and not by some demeaning nickname.

"I just wanted to say thank you."

Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side. "For what?"

"Well," Sango sighed, "you've saved me over and over again, to the point of resurrection. And for that, I thank you."

Sesshoumaru nodded a response, and Sango left him alone. Once she was gone, his lip curled in the smallest of pleased smirks, and he closed his eyes. Not to sleep, no, he never sleeps.

* * *

"Sango-chan!" Kuranosuke greeted her fondly. "It is the third day, will you come to the castle and be my wife?" He laughed, and added comically, "Please?"

"Kuranosuke-kun…" Sango cleared her throat. Her friends were gathered around her, and she was pretty positive Sesshoumaru—her heart thumped in her chest, a new sensation that she had never felt before while thinking of the taiyoukai—was somewhere nearby also, maybe listening in.

Kuranosuke smiled, dressed in his usual flamboyant clothing. "I trust that you have made your decision?"

"Yes. I have decided to go with you to your castle." Miroku made a noise of irritation, so Sango turned and shot him a glare.

"Excellent!" Kuranosuke boomed joyfully. "You will marry me, then?"

"… No."

Kuranosuke's smiled dampened. "But why ever not?" he cried.

"Wait!" Sango exclaimed, desperately trying to patch up her mistake. "I didn't mean that!"

"So you will marry me?"

"No!" Sango said, biting her lip. "It's not that I _won't_, Kuranosuke-kun. I want to go back to your castle and then decide. Perhaps I could get a taste of," here, she hesitated, "castle life?"

"Of course!" the king cried, obviously pleased. He took her hand and led her to the carriage, surprised when she pulled away.

"I have to say good-bye to my friends," she said by way of an explanation.

Kuranosuke nodded, and disappeared inside the carriage to wait, albeit impatiently.

"Kagome-chan," Sango said, and hugged her friend. "Good-bye."

"It's not as if you're going away forever!" Kagome said through teary eyes, fearing that Sango might say yes to Kuranosuke's proposal and that she might never see her friend again.

Sango nodded in agreement, and turned to the hanyou beside Kagome. "Inuyasha," she said evenly, sticking out her hand for him to shake. Inuyasha glanced between her face and her hands, grumbled something incomprehensible, and pulled the surprised taijiya into a hug.

"Don't be gone long," the hanyou ordered, releasing the stunned girl.

"Y-yes," Sango agreed, thoroughly shocked. Next was Miroku. "Houshi," she said coldly, holding her head high.

"Don't leave," came his soft, soft reply.

She didn't answer; her attention had moved on to Shippo. "See you, Shippo," she said, mouth molding itself in the shape of a fond smile.

"Yeah," Shippo said, not exactly sure of what was going on. He _had _been fairly out of it recently.

"Good-bye, Rin," Sango said fondly, turning to the little human girl, who was rocking back and forth on her heels energetically. She responded with a toothy grin and a small, shy finger wave. The taijiya smiled at her and tossed her hand in a relaxed wave at Jaken, saying, "Bye." There was no response besides a small grumbling noise, and Sango stroked the friendly cat demon beside him that had been her companion for years. Kirara was staying with Kagome this time.

Now, was there anyone else to thank? Oh, yes. Sango turned to the tree where she had last seen her taiyoukai friend. "Good-bye, Sesshoumaru," she called, heart beating the tiniest bit faster at the mention of his name. Receiving no response, Sango offered a dry smile, and disappeared into the carriage where Kuranosuke waited.

From the topmost branches of the tree, Sesshoumaru looked on, and when the carriage set off, he took to leaping through the trees in hot pursuit.

* * *

"Welcome back, my lord," said one of the countless servants, sliding into a low bow without any hesitation. Humble, he glanced up at Sango, and exclaimed lightly, as if he had been expecting her, "Ah, the maiden Sango. Greetings, my lady."

Sango coughed uncomfortably. "Err… hello."

Kuranosuke smiled flightily and pushed past his servants, into the castle. "Come, Sango-chan!" he called back gaily.

"O-okay," Sango said nervously, hurrying past the servants with murmurs of "Sorry," and "Pardon me." Stepping inside the grand abode, she looked around and, finding the king to be nowhere in sight, called out, "Kuranosuke-kun? Where are you?"

"In here, Sango-chan," was the reply from the room to the right.

She hurried in, and found him sitting down, surrounded by both food and servants. She ran up to be before him, and knelt humbly.

"Sango-chan, Sango-chan," the young lord laughed. "You said you wanted a taste of castle life. Come sit beside me, please." Sango, highly uncomfortable, obeyed, and Kuranosuke belted out, "Bring her food and drink! Give her a back massage! Attend to her every whim!"

"Kuranosuke-kun, _please_!" Sango implored desperately, grabbing his arm, which was pointed out toward his many servants. "I don't want a back massage. I'm not hungry, or thirsty. Don't make your servants do anything special for me, I beg of you."

"Nonsense!" he boomed, and laughed once more. "Look at her! Wouldn't she make," he flashed her a smile, "the perfect queen?"

Sango flushed. "N-no… I wouldn't…" _Oh, stop… please! _she begged mentally.

"And so modest!"

_"Stop!"_

The word spilled from her mouth before she had a chance to stop it. Immediately she clapped a hand over her mouth, embarrassed. Kuranosuke stared at her with wide eyes, and when she had plucked up enough courage, she said pitifully, "I'm sorry…"

"Sango-chan," Kuranosuke leaned toward her, "what ever is the matter?"

"I'm not comfortable with this, Kuranosuke-kun," she told him truthfully.

"But you've only been here for five minutes!" he exclaimed, shaking his head.

Sango stood, and turned away from him, away from the servants with their prying eyes. "I'm sorry. I can't marry you." And with that, she swept out of the room, knowing her way around the castle well enough to know that the garden was nearby.

"Sango-chan—!" the king cried, standing and knocking over his tray of food. Absently, he waved at the spill and ordered, "Clean that up." His servants immediately tended to it, while he ran out of the room, calling, "Sango! _Sango_!"

She was outside, leaning over the rail of the sweet little bridge that crossed over the stream. She looked at her miserable expression in the water and heaved a heavy sigh.

* * *

Crouched in a tall tree overhead, Sesshoumaru watched. He did not know what had happened inside the castle, but Sango was upset. He hoped she hadn't said yes.

Just then, his nose picked up Kuranosuke's scent and his ears caught soft, plodding footsteps. The amber eyes narrowed. _He comes…_

* * *

"Sango-chan," came a sad voice from behind.

So lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed his arrival, the taijiya squeaked and whirled around, hands clutching the rail with white-knuckled ferocity. They lost most of that when she saw who it was. "Kuranosuke-kun," she said softly, turning back around to stare at her reflection once more.

He moved so he was beside her, and also leaned over the rail. "You really do not wish to marry me?" he asked, idly picking up a pebble and tossing it in the stream, breaking the calm surface of the water.

"I'm sorry," was her answer.

"'I'm sorry' does not answer my question." His voice was a little more desperate this time.

Sango sighed. "No."

"But _why_?" Kuranosuke turned on her, and his hands fisted furiously in his robes. "_Why_, Sango-chan? What do you want? Kimonos? Jewelry? _Weapons_? I'll get you anything!"

"It all sounds very lovely—" Sango began.

"Yes, it does, doesn't it? You'll have all you could ever want here, Sango-chan! You'll be _queen_! You'll be rich! There will never be any trouble! It will be the easy life!"

"Exactly," Sango cut in. "I don't want the 'easy life'. I don't want servants hanging over me, waiting on me hand and foot. I don't feel comfortable with the attention."

"Fine!" the lord cried, eyes wild. "If you want, Sango-chan, we'll get rid of the servants! It doesn't matter! As long as you are happy!"

"Kuranosu—"

"Don't you understand?" Kuranosuke snapped, catching her chin and tipping her face up to meet his eyes. "You are mine!"

Sango blinked in surprise and disgust; she didn't slap his hand away purely for the reason that he was, after all, a king. _I haven't seen this side of Kuranosuke before, _she thought. _Is this how he acts when he's alone? So arrogant, and so possessive?_

Blind with rage, Sesshoumaru leapt down, knocked the young king aside with a punch that sent him flying, and foolishly bellowed at the boy the one thing he did not want to say in Sango's presence: "She is no more yours than she is mine!"

There was a sharp intake of breath heard from behind, and Sesshoumaru whirled around to see a shocked Sango with her hand to her mouth, with eyes like dinner plates.

Inwardly berating himself but knowing it was too late to take it back now, Sesshoumaru scowled and resorted to the sorrowful but very true, "I do not like things held up before me that I cannot have."

"What do you mean?" Sango asked, her voice trembling, knowing full well what he meant.

Sesshoumaru growled softly under his breath, and, choosing actions over words, lifted Sango's chin up, wrapped his arms around her roughly, possessively, and locked his lips over her own. Sango went limp in his arms; the only thing holding her up was his embrace. She felt almost the same as to how she had felt when Miroku had told her he loved her, or kissed her, except this time the feeling was much… stronger.

_All along… it's been Sesshoumaru that I…I__…_

As this half-thought—one that didn't even need to be finished—made its way through her mind, Sesshoumaru seemed to wake up, and pushed her away. Within the time it took for Sango to realize that he had let her go, he had bolted out the castle doors and into the wood, leaving Sango cold and alone.

Upon the realization that he was gone, she swore, "Dammit!" and sprinted in the direction Sesshoumaru had disappeared in.

Hiding in the upper branches of a tree, as usual, Sesshoumaru collapsed against the trunk and berated himself. "You stupid_ idiot_," he growled, furious that his feelings had completely dominated him.

Just then, desperate footsteps reached his ears, and he glanced down to see Sango appear, panting and calling out. _She chased after me, _he thought, and decided to stay still.

* * *

_Where is he? _Sango thought, swinging her head from side to side in an attempt to find him. Then, she realized where he had to be. Where did the taiyoukai spend most of his time? In the trees, of course. Depending upon this hunch, Sango's eyes found the tallest tree in the clearing, and she decided to give that one a shot. Even if it weren't the right one, she would be able to see trees for miles around.

As the taijiya shinnied up the tree, she began to hear an angry voice, and she knew she had found the right one. Trying not to be seen, Sango, silent as could be, climbed hand over foot until the voice was just around the trunk.

Sesshoumaru glanced down to the ground below. _Where is she? _His delicate nose sniffed the air, and immediately caught her scent right next to him. _Oh no, _he thought, and turned his head just in time to see Sango tackle him, a wild grin on her face. "Found you!" she squealed.

"S-Sango!" he choked as they began to tumble off the branch and onto the ground below. He scrabbled desperately at the tree, but it was no use, and the taijiya shrieked and squeezed her eyes shut as they started to fall. She had not intended to knock him from the branch.

Infuriated, Sesshoumaru concentrated his energy and began to transform into the giant dog, ensuring their safety.

When Sango reopened her eyes, she was hanging for dear life on the ruff of a huge dog with white fur. Sango gave a shriek of surprise and clutched desperately at the fur around his neck.

Sesshoumaru gave the canine equivalent of a smirk, and tossed his gigantic head. Sango went flying, screaming all the while, until she landed with a _thump_ on his back. "Oof," she muttered, picking herself up. She looked around her in surprise. They were now leaping, in huge strides, away from the castle, back to where Kagome, Inuyasha and the rest were.

"S-Sesshoumaru?" Sango stammered, touching his fur delicately.

Sesshoumaru _woof_ed in response and paused as the camp came within view. It had been only seconds, yet his strides were so long that they were able to cover unimaginable distance. Sango looked past the taiyoukai, to where she saw Inuyasha and her friends, gathered below.

* * *

"Who's that?" Shippo cried, gripping Kirara harder than necessary in fright.

The ground shook as the demon slammed its paws against the earth to gain speed.

Inuyasha took out Tetsusaiga. "It's Sesshoumaru!" he shouted. Kagome huddled behind him; she was all too familiar with the huge dog. Honestly, the schoolgirl preferred Sesshoumaru as a human-like figure.

"Look!" Miroku gasped, pointing. "Riding on his back! It's _Sango_!"

* * *

Sango gave a half-hearted wave and chuckled, thinking how strange it must be, to see her riding Sesshoumaru. She tugged on a piece of the dog demon's coat and said, "Down, boy."

The dog growled in annoyance and obeyed. Sango felt the thing holding her up disappear, and she shrieked and began to fall. A second later she plummeted into Sesshoumaru's arms. They walked into camp with Sesshoumaru holding the disoriented Sango bridal-style.

"Let her go!" Miroku demanded, pointing his staff at the demon.

Sesshoumaru shrugged, and promptly dropped Sango on the ground. She landed on her backside with a cry of pain, and then stood a moment later. By that time, Sesshoumaru had already retreated to who-knows-where.

"Sango!" the houshi cried, rushing forward to help her.

She pushed past him impatiently and scurried after Sesshoumaru, not bothering to greet any one of her friends. She had had quite enough of this game of cat and mouse!

"Where's she going?" Inuyasha asked crossly.

Miroku knew. He sighed. "To see Sesshoumaru."

The collective, _"What!"_ that followed made Miroku regret telling the truth.

* * *

Sesshoumaru pushed past the ferns in the forest, wanting to get away. He didn't want to face Sango again. He was thankful enough she hadn't said anything on the ride back.

"Sesshoumaru!"

He stopped dead. Slowly, he turned, a stony expression on his face. Sango was racing toward him, and when she was there, she gripped his sleeve and barked, "Stop running away!"

He shrugged out of her hold. "I am not running away, human."

The term stung, but Sango pressed on. "Yes, you are, and you can't anymore! Not until you've told me why you," she faltered here before going on, "k-kissed me!"

The taiyoukai stiffened, and turned his back. "I have no need to tell you why," he said stonily.

"You don't want to," Sango accused him rightly, "because you have set yourself up for rejection!" Sango whirled him around and, giving him a glare worthy of a demon, blurted out, "Who says I'm going to reject you? Because I—I'm_ not_!"

_TBC_


	3. To Choose a Mate

**Chapter 3: To Choose a Mate**

Their reactions were hilarious, so Sango thought.

Inuyasha… well, he was strangely silent. He sat there, brow drawn together, mouth set in a hard line; he was inwardly raging, all could tell.

Kagome smiled weakly and tried to be supportive. It was obviously forced. She gushed, "Oh, Sango, I'm so happy for you!" If anything, she was terrified.

Shippo squealed and hid behind Kirara. When he had worked up some courage, he squeaked, "S-Sango, you're j-joking, right?"

Kirara bristled and hissed at Sesshoumaru, understanding perfectly but not happy about it.

Jaken's mouth fell open and he sputtered indecipherable banter, twitching all the while. He said nothing more after that moment of madness, but gave Sango the occasional ominous glare and twitch.

Rin was the only one truly overjoyed, as Sango was. She leapt up, her green and orange kimono fanning out about her, and clapped her hands, jumping twice. "Yay!" she squealed, barreling into Sango and wrapping her thin arms around Sango's knees.

Miroku… Miroku was furious. He stood up, jabbed his finder at Sango, and snapped, "I knew it! All along, it's been him!" Then he calmed mysteriously and begged the taijiya to reconsider, proclaiming that she was obviously delirious.

But all the while, Sango shook her head and stood tall.

Sesshoumaru was waiting outside, loath to participate in the confession. The taiyoukai was stiffly waiting for Sango to appear, at the same time mulling over what would happen now. He knew Tohyama would have to be taken care of first, but what then? Sesshoumaru wished to discuss it with Sango—alone.

Then, as the thought of Tohyama passed through his mind, the demon descended from the sky as if by magic, appendages writhing and the head in the center grinning madly.

"Thinking of me, Sesshoumaru-_sama_?" it teased. Floating down, it paused, mid-laugh, to cock Kyo's head and listen. Its smile widened. "Or of Sango?"

"Keep away from her," Sesshoumaru warned him darkly, flexing his claws.

The creature danced away from the danger and chuckled. "Yes, my lord," he drawled, dipping down in the best bow he could do with a body like that.

The taiyoukai resisted calling out to his inferior brother and his friends, not to mention Sango, for the sole reason of protecting her, and her alone. And maybe his pride didn't want to do it either, even though he knew in his heart that he could not defeat Tohyama alone.

It annoyed him, that fact. Thoroughly peeved, he charged foolishly to prove his strength. Unsheathing Tokijin and hacking off a couple of tentacles, he soon realized this was futile and, after letting down his guard for the merest of moments, was thrown back into the wall of the hut.

Or, rather, through the hut itself.

When the taiyoukai crashed into the bamboo house where Sango and the others had been so deep in conference about Sesshoumaru (Sango, Rin and Jaken defending him loyally) that they had not heard a thing, however unlikely that was, Sango leapt up from where she had been crouched and yelped, "Sesshoumaru!"

Immediately rushing to his aid (much to the annoyance of Miroku and Inuyasha), the taijiya, helping the taiyoukai to his feet, asked, "What happened!"

Sesshoumaru brushed her away, leaving her to stare back at him in offended hurt. Ignoring the twinge of guilt, he grunted, "Tohyama."

Abandoning her hurt for surprise, Sango repeated, "Tohyama!" as the others stood and hurriedly readied the others.

"Tohyama has come back, huh?" Inuyasha asked, cracking his knuckles. "Good. I have a little steam to work off."

"Me too," Miroku agreed immediately, hand flying to the rosary beads that once held the Wind Tunnel closed only to remember that the Wind Tunnel had vanished along with Naraku.

One moment later, six strode outside, leaving Shippo, Rin and Jaken inside the hut.

"Ah," Tohyama exclaimed lightly upon seeing them, "my dear friends!"

"We're no friends of yours!" Inuyasha snarled, drawing Tetsusaiga and swinging it above his head. "Wind Scar!"

As the attack roared toward him, Tohyama gave a smirk and drew his tentacles together to successfully block the attack, much to Inuyasha and the others' horror.

"Damn," Inuyasha swore.

With a cry, Kagome shot her arrow with near perfect accuracy, hitting a burly demon's head near the center and obliterating it.

Miroku gave a grim smile; almost sorry his Wind Tunnel was gone. "Nice shot," he commented. Kagome beamed, but he was too busy sending sutras flying at the different heads to notice.

Sango, with Sesshoumaru beside her, tore her Hiraikotsu off its straps and prepared to throw it when—

"Do you know what tomorrow is?"

Sango blanched and squinted at the smirking Tohyama distrustfully. She did not notice that beside her, Sesshoumaru flinched openly.

"No," she said crossly. "What do you speak of, demon?"

"Tomorrow"—Tohyama's wicked grin widened—"is the anniversary of Sesshoumaru-sama's mother's death."

Sango started in surprise and lowered her boomerang to glance at Sesshoumaru. She turned back to Tohyama after having taken in the pain on the taiyoukai's usually opaque face and snapped, "And how would you know that?"

"I've been around a long time," Tohyama told her solemnly. "Waiting and watching from the shadows." But now he grinned again, his eyes locked onto Sango's. "I'm surprised you, Sango, of all people, did not know."

Sango looked away from Tohyama's triumphant stare and looked once more at the taiyoukai, who was uncharacteristically hunched over. "Sesshoumaru?" she whispered, a hand stretching out toward him.

It was waved away. Sesshoumaru straightened and glared at Tohyama with eyes filled with loathing.

"You bastard," he growled, one clawed hand flying to his forehead, mussing his white fringe and covering up one amber eye. "Don't you dare speak about my mother!"

The very words dripped hatred, and it was frightening; Sango and the rest were stunned into silence. Even Inuyasha had been cowed by the extent of his elder brother's rage.

"I'm _sorry_," crooned Tohyama sweetly. He turned his gaze on Sango once more. "But don't you wish to know how she died, dear Sango?"

Sesshoumaru roared incoherently with rage. "Keep her out of this!"

Sango felt guilty. She did want to know. She fidgeted where she stood, knowing both Tohyama and Sesshoumaru's eyes were on her.

"She was murdered—" began Tohyama conversationally.

Sesshoumaru stiffened, resisting lashing out with a curse that would surely make even Inuyasha choke.

"—by her mate."

Sesshoumaru stopped short from where he had been on the verge of bellowing out a particularly powerful Dragon Strike. "What?" He shook his head. "Fool, she was not murdered by my father!"

Tohyama sucked in a breath in fake surprise. "You mean you did not know?"

"You lie," the taiyoukai snarled.

"Not knowing your own father killed your mother… it must come as a blow." Kyo's face grinned, and two familiar silver triangles appeared in the center of his forehead. Sesshoumaru's face went white. He knew what was about to happen.

"No!" he choked out, eyes wide with horror as he felt the pull. He looked around for something to grab onto, but was completely distracted when he saw Sango desperately scrabbling for a hold too… she was also being sucked in to the vortex. _Bastard! _the taiyoukai thought viciously, and, seeing no way out, clutched Sango to him and pressed her against his body, to protect her from any harm.

One second later, it appeared to Inuyasha, Kagome and Miroku that the two had disappeared off the face of the earth. Kagome let out a shout and looked around helplessly. Miroku launched himself at Tohyama, furious that the demon had brought Sango into it too, but was thrown back almost immediately. Inuyasha looked on with a blank look on his face.

Part of the hanyou felt that Sesshoumaru was getting what he deserved, but a tiny fraction of his soul felt angry with Tohyama for hurting him this way. Inuyasha pushed this side away, and convinced himself that Sesshoumaru deserved this

* * *

The taijiya and the taiyoukai landed with a _thump _on cold hard dirt, Sango curled up in Sesshoumaru's embrace. When Sango looked up, she saw they were in the ruins of a castle—a castle that had obviously once been very grand indeed.

Sesshoumaru followed suit a moment later, and his eyes widened in horror when he saw where they were. He released Sango and stood up, looking around, his face a sickly green.

"Sesshoumaru?" Sango asked meekly, coming up behind him. "I—"

"Don't bother," he told her flatly. He opened his mouth to say more, but soft padding footsteps were heard hurrying toward the ruin. He glanced over to where the sound was coming from, and saw a demoness hurrying into the castle, stumbling over rocks and crying.

"Mother," he gasped from their place in the shadows.

Sango squeaked in surprise and hurried to shush him, afraid that they might be discovered. When she looked at Sesshoumaru's mother, however, she had not reacted; Sango and Sesshoumaru could not be heard.

The demoness was beautiful. That had been Sango's first thought when she came into view. Even while tears were running down her face, and her nose dripping, her kimono torn and filthy, the demoness was still the loveliest being that Sango had ever seen.

Long, dark, curly hair framed her face and flowed down her back. Large amber eyes, ringed with red from crying, stared fearfully out from her angular face, as if looking for a place to hide. The kimono she was wearing was an elaborate one made of black silk with a pale pink obi and red under-robe. It was torn in countless places, for she had been running through thatches of thorns and sharp, pricking branches. It was marred by deep brown dirt, for as the demoness had been running, she had tripped over rocks and fallen many times into the mud.

Sango glanced at Sesshoumaru, and saw his gaze fixed on his mother, mouth hanging open in shock; he had never seen his mother act or look any other way than the mate of InuTaishou: a prim, silent, every-hair-in-place ruler.

"No…!" came a deep female voice that took Sango by surprise. The taijiya tore her gaze away from the taiyoukai and saw that it had been his mother who had spoken. The demoness had collapsed against the far wall, obviously spent.

Sesshoumaru's hands tightened into fists at hearing his mother call out. "Mother," he repeated softly, knowing what was to come. Soon, heavy footfalls reached their ears, and immediately all three of them knew who it was, for Sesshoumaru's mother let out a shrill scream and scrambled behind a stairway, blocking her from view to the oncoming demon and Sango and Sesshoumaru.

InuTaishou burst in on the scene, dressed in all his finery, Sou'unga in hand. When Sesshoumaru saw his father, he bolted forward before Sango could stop him, and reached his father in a manner of seconds. The taiyoukai went to punch InuTaishou, but his clawed hand passed through his father without a sound.

Sesshoumaru roared in fury and swung desperately, trying to prevent what was about to happen. While Sesshoumaru was in the midst of attacking, InuTaishou stepped through him and called out, "Where are you, Naname?"

There was a small, involuntary whimper from behind the stairs. InuTaishou smiled grimly and hurried over. Sesshoumaru followed, trying to stop his father in every way possible. Finally, Sango had to hurry out of the shadows and grab Sesshoumaru's waist, hissing in his ear, "It's no use! You can't stop him!"

Sesshoumaru went limp in her arms from where he had been struggling, and Sango let him go. The taiyoukai staggered forward just in time to see his father raise his sword and bring it down upon Naname. There was a gigantic spray of crimson blood, and a scream burst from Sesshoumaru's throat before he could stop it.

_"MOTHER!"_

* * *

When Sesshoumaru and Sango were thrown back into the real world, Sesshoumaru doing all he could to stop from shaking, the two found Tohyama overpowering the three fighters who were left behind.

Inuyasha was sorely wounded; there was a gaping hole in his stomach where no doubt one of Tohyama's tentacles had struck, but he still managed to stand and throw Wind Scar after useless Wind Scar at the demon, occasionally sticking in an equally pointless Backlash Wave.

Kagome was, of course, totally fine, as Inuyasha had been protecting her all throughout this battle. She was, however, out of arrows, and the only thing she could do was run around in circles screaming,_"INUYASHA!"_

Miroku was clutching his once cursed arm, and there was a copious amount of blood seeping out from underneath his palm. When he saw Sango, his face brightened, and when his eyes flitted to Sesshoumaru, the houshi had been all prepared to give the taiyoukai a jealous scowl when Miroku saw the raw emotion on his face, and didn't do anything but stare.

Sesshoumaru felt numb. He had believed Tohyama to be lying when the demon had first announced how Naname had died. The fact that he hadn't been came as a blow to the heart, and the taiyoukai felt he could barely stand. His eyesight was dim, and there was a burning feeling in the back of his throat, but he swallowed it away and stumbled in some direction; whether it was toward Tohyama or toward the hut where Rin, Jaken and Shippo waited, he did not know.

"Sesshoumaru!" came Sango's voice out of the darkness. Sesshoumaru looked around muzzily and shook his head.

Sango, infuriated by the change in Sesshoumaru's demeanor, reached up and yanked his face toward hers. "Wake up!" she snapped at him, giving his face a few good slaps.

The battle forgotten to him, Miroku watched, slightly relieved. When Sango had suddenly jerked the taiyoukai's face toward her own, he had thought in horror that she might kiss him.

Sesshoumaru's vision brightened until he could see Sango's face before his own. Her hand was raised to slap him again, but his clawed hand darted out and caught hers before she had the chance to. "Stop slapping me, wench!" he snarled.

Sango was taken by surprise, and snatched her hand back, staring at the taiyoukai. "I'm sorry. I—"

Before Sango could say anything else, Sesshoumaru's arms closed around her and pulled her to him. Sango's face was suddenly pressed in his shoulder, and after understanding that he was not berating her, tentatively responded by wrapping her arms around him.

She noticed his back was shaking, and hugged him tighter.

It was then that all warriors forgot the battle, if only for a moment.

In Miroku's case, the houshi nearly dropped his staff. Who was that in Sango's arms? Surely it couldn't be the stony Sesshoumaru, who denied all trace of human emotion!

When Kagome saw the hug, she thought something similar, but it was also accompanied by the thought of how he really does love her Not that she was too thrilled about that, after what Sesshoumaru had done to Inuyasha. But she knew there was nothing she could do, and besides, if Sango was happy with Sesshoumaru, then Kagome felt that should be happy for her.

When Inuyasha paused, his nose wrinkled in involuntary distaste and surprise when he saw the taiyoukai and the taijiya embrace. The little part of that had felt angry with Tohyama for causing his elder brother returned, and told the hanyou that he deserved this comfort.

Even Tohyama stopped, mid-assault. The wicked shape-shifter observed the Sango and Sesshoumaru's embrace and a brilliant idea hatched in his mind. He had tried it before, and it had been foiled; he did not know how, but he would make sure it didn't happen again.

Suddenly, a few moments later, Sesshoumaru felt Sango's grip on him slacken noticeably, so he opened his eyes and loosened his hold on her, confused. She began to slide lifelessly to the ground and he had to grasp her tightly once more to keep her up.

Sesshoumaru, now panicked, looked up to see Tohyama with a triumphant look on his face as he called back a bloody appendage. The taiyoukai, horrified, realized that in the midst of their heartfelt embrace, the evil demon had snuck up behind and stabbed Sango through the heart.

Sesshoumaru dropped to the ground with her, and cradled her body in his arms. He heard running, and glanced up to see Miroku dashing toward him, eyes wide with horror and mouth open in a wail of anguish. As the houshi neared, however, Sesshoumaru opened his mouth and released a guttural growl that made Miroku stop in his tracks. After a moment's hesitation, however, Miroku charged forward once more, and Sesshoumaru had to snarl and growl like a proper hound to keep him away.

Inuyasha glanced away from Tohyama and when he saw Sango's limp form, it brought back memories… painful memories. It took all his self-control to not scream and let go of Tetsusaiga, freeing his demon side so he could stand more of a chance against Tohyama.

Kagome glanced up from where she had been gazing at Inuyasha, wishing he would hug her like the taiyoukai had been hugging Sango a moment before,and when she saw Sango cradled in Sesshoumaru's arms, she let out a long, shrill scream that only dimly resembled, _"SANGO!"_

Without any more hesitation, and without the slightest care that Tohyama was watching intently, Sesshoumaru unsheathed Tenseiga and raised it above Sango. The enchanted sword glowed, and the colors dimmed in Sesshoumaru's eyes, revealing the imps that had come to take Sango. He slashed at them, and with little screeches of fury, they dissolved into smoke.

Sesshoumaru foolishly dropped his sword on the ground and knelt before Sango, gathering her up in his arms as he had once done Rin.

Soon, to his relief, she blinked and slowly opened cloudy cinnamon orbs. The taiyoukai watched as they cleared and when her eyes focused on him and she murmured his name, he clutched her to him in a desperate hold and vowed never to let her come to any harm again.

Tohyama screeched his fury and focused on the sword with hatred. _So that's how it was done! _After glancing around quickly to make sure everyone was paying attention to Sango—indeed they were; Kagome was frozen where she stood but weak-kneed with relief, Miroku was pushing Sesshoumaru out of the way so he could grab onto the rather disoriented and stunned Sango (Sesshoumaru promptly grabbed her back), and Inuyasha hadn't moved either but was giving a laugh of relief—one thick purple tentacle slithered forward and snatched Tenseiga off the ground.

Sesshoumaru, still holding Sango and glaring at the houshi, glanced to the side and when he saw his sword was gone, he let out a bark of surprise and his amber orbs flew to Tohyama just in time to see the demon snap the sword in half as easily as if it had been a toothpick.

With Sesshoumaru's shout, all attention went to Tohyama, and they all watched the broken sword drop to the ground with similar expressions: horror, fright, disbelief, and apprehension…

Now that the sword was broken, Tohyama had decided that the battle could now begin properly—there was to be no more holding so, to announce this, with perfect accuracy and terrible speed, a tentacle shot toward the oblivious Miroku.

Sango and Sesshoumaru were suddenly showered with blood.

Sesshoumaru promptly dropped her in the dirt to wipe off the blood himself, disgusted and completely conscious of what had just happened.

After letting out a shriek of surprise and confusion, Sango rubbed the blood frantically from her eyes so she could see again. She instinctively glanced down at her lap, and when she did, she began to scream, and scream, and scream.

When no one did anything, Tohyama grinned and focused once more on Inuyasha, whose eyes were fixed on the screaming Sango. The hanyou turned back to Tohyama and hollered, "You _bastard_! Wind Sca—" Blood bubbled to the surface of his mouth, crested the mountain that was his lip, and dripped down his chin in a hideous crimson trail. And the hanyou toppled.

"_INUYASHAAAAAAAA!"  
_

* * *

Nightmarish splashes and gory splotches marred the dirt and trees around them.

Inuyasha lay where he had fallen, and blood was seeping steadily from underneath his haori, but Miroku was the only one truly dead.

Maybe Kagome hadn't noticed, or maybe she was too busy fretting frantically over Inuyasha, but it was Sango who hadn't moved from where the houshi had fallen into her lap.

It was Sango who sat in the blood and the grime and turned to Sesshoumaru, tears streaming down her face.

It was Sango who had hollered hoarsely at him, "Bring him back! Bring Miroku back!"

Sesshoumaru had waved the broken Tenseiga—he had reclaimed the sword shortly after Tohyama had been scared off by an onslaught of Dragon Strikes—before her crazed eyes and said solemnly, "I can do nothing."

It was Sango who had then promptly fainted, and Sesshoumaru who had caught her and, moving the houshi's body aside, taken her from the field of carnage.

On his way out, he heard the miko turn away from his idiot brother, realize what had happened in the time she had been panicking over the state of Inuyasha's health, and begin to scream shrilly in a song that eventually wound down to a wail, and then to desperate sobs, and finally to muffled whimpers.

* * *

_Kagome—_

_I'm sorry. I wish I knew how everything—every_one_—was, but my departure was so sudden, and Sesshoumaru took me away—he told me I fainted, but still!—and now six months have passed and until now I was too scared to contact you for the fear that you hated me for leaving you all alone on that bloody battlefield._

_I can't blame you if you don't reply._

_Sango_

Sango surveyed her letter and stepped outside one of the many decrepit huts in the abandoned village that she now resided in. Handing the note to Jaken, who had been forced to become her mailman, the taijiya moved on to where Hiraikotsu lay in wait. She had just exterminated an extremely tough demon with an especially hard hide, and her faithful boomerang now had a huge crack in it, and needed fixing.

"Sango."

Sango turned around and smiled when she saw who had come up behind her. "Hello. When did you get back?"

Disregarding her question, Sesshoumaru said, monotonously, "I presume you knew it was me."

"Yes," Sango said with a smile. Her senses had sharpened, after all. Thinking of this, the taijiya ran her fingers across two little dark red bumps where her neck met her shoulder. "It was hurting earlier. Are you injured?"

"I'm fine," the taiyoukai replied, and rolled up his sleeve to show a small scratch. "Just this. It was a toad demon who dared to try and slice my head off. It got my arm, instead."

"It must have been quite strong, then."

"No," said Sesshoumaru as Sango took a closer look at his arm, "only stubborn."

Sango couldn't help but sigh in exasperation as she shook her head. "If my neck hurts that much over a tiny scratch, what will happen when you're seriously hurt?" she exclaimed, chuckling to show she wasn't too serious. "I'll probably die from the sheer pain! And it wouldn't even be my own wound!"

"Don't say that," Sesshoumaru reprimanded her softly, stepping closer. "And it _is _your pain." He was close enough to touch her now. "Don't forget that, Sango." He blinked slowly when Sango smiled at him sweetly.

The taijiya reached upward, wrapping two arms around his neck, utterly unsurprised when he followed by placing his arm around her waist and tugging her closer. "I'm sorry," she said dutifully, even though she wasn't.

"A demoness would never forget that her mate's pain is her own. It comes naturally," Sesshoumaru said softly, agreeably resting his chin atop her head and making her smile.

"I'm not a demoness!"

"What do you humans do when you become mates?" Sesshoumaru asked curiously, suddenly breaking away from the embrace she had pulled him into.

"We don't 'become mates'," Sango told him, shaking her head. "We get married, and there certainly isn't any biting involved!"

Sesshoumaru smirked and nodded. "I see. Then how do you know when the other is in danger?"

"We don't!"

"That's stupid."

Sango, not to be made a fool of, opened her mouth to fire a comeback, but just then Jaken barreled in, wielding a letter. "Milord! Milord!" the imp exclaimed, waving the letter above his head. "A letter from your uncle!"

"My uncle?" Sesshoumaru repeated, snatching the paper from Jaken's hand. His eyes scanned the letter and hardened in annoyance while a clawed hand crumpled the letter viciously.

"N-not good news, m-milord?" Jaken stammered nervously, and braced himself for a rock—or even Sesshoumaru's boot—to collide roughly with his bruised green head. When nothing happened, the imp glanced up gleefully and crowed, "It is good news, then, milord?"

"No," Sesshoumaru said darkly, dropping the letter in the dirt and distractedly booting Jaken in the head with his shoe. "It isn't."

"What's wrong?" Sango asked anxiously.

"My uncle wishes for me to choose a mate, and has called me to his palace to do so."

"But… I thought…" Sango trailed off for a minute, and then realized that what she had been about to say ("But I thought I was your mate!") would have been an idiotic thing to say; obviously, Sesshoumaru's uncle didn't know about her, and Sesshoumaru wouldn't _want _him to know that his mate was a _human_. At a loss for what to say, she settled for this: "Well, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go, of course," he answered immediately.

This took Sango by complete surprise, and she frowned. "You are?" the taijiya exclaimed in confusion, and voiced her previous thought: "But I thought I was your mate!"

"Don't be senseless, Sango, you are my mate." Sango relaxed, but Sesshoumaru wasn't finished. "But I cannot disobey my uncle. I must go." Sango looked thoroughly miserable, and the taiyoukai said, "Don't worry."

"When?" Sango inquired as she followed her mate into the most fancy hut in the small village—the only one completely undamaged from whatever had swept through this town and sent everything into near-ruin. It was where they slept. Rin was napping in an adjoining room.

Stepping over their futon, Sesshoumaru said, "Now," and peeked into the next room to see Rin sleeping. Then he pushed past Sango, going back outside without another word.

"Now?" Sango repeated in surprise. She hurried out after him and exclaimed, "Why now? I'm not ready!"

"What do you mean you're not ready?" Sesshoumaru said impatiently. "You're not coming."

"Of course I'm coming!" Sango exclaimed, seemingly forgetting about Rin as she pulled on a shawl, grabbed the still slightly broken Hiraikotsu, and strapped it to her back. "You don't seriously think I would to let you go 'choose a mate' alone, do you?"

"You _will _stay here," Sesshoumaru growled, throwing out an arm to stop the taijiya in her tracks.

"I _will _do nothing!" Sango snapped back. "It could be involuntary, Sesshoumaru—"

"You don't seriously mean to say that I would"—his nostrils flared angrily—"do _that_? You dishonor me! A demon would never dream of doing something like that," the taiyoukai told her, his tone stern.

Sango, now nervous, sputtered, "I'm sorry, I—"

"You are _not _going," Sesshoumaru said, his eyes red with wrath. "End of story."

Sango's gaze fell to the ground, and Sesshoumaru turned without a word and jumped into the sky, turning into a small ball of silver light that sped away across the horizon. As soon as he was out of sight, the taijiya turned around, ran back into the hut, woke Rin, and told her, "Rin-chan, Sesshoumaru and I are going to leave for a night or so, all right?"

Rin, very used to being on her own, sleepily replied, "Yes, Sango-sama," and promptly went back to sleep.

Sango grinned and retreated back outside, calling, "Kirara!"

There was a sharp mewing sound and the fully sized two-tailed cat demon leapt out from behind the hut and Sango jumped onto her without hesitation with the order of, "Follow him!"

* * *

"My lord." Sesshoumaru knelt before his elderly uncle, who looked on proudly.

"I trust you got my letter," the old demon said, absently brushing a strand of black hair out of his eyes. He was Naname's brother.

"Yes, my lord."

"And I trust that you have not yet taken a mate?"

"No, my lord," Sesshoumaru said, otherwise his uncle would have demanded to see her, and that would not do.

"Excellent. You may stay here for a few days. You will choose a mate on the night of the full moon."

"My lord, that is but one day away," Sesshoumaru said, eyes to the floor.

"Is it? Well, you will choose a mate tomorrow, then."

_Fool, _the taiyoukai thought to himself, but all he said was, "Yes, my lord."

"You may retire to your room. Chiyo will show you the way."

"Yes, my lord," Sesshoumaru said, and stood, still keeping his eyes to the ground in respect, however false it was. While dutifully following the young demoness Chiyo, his heart _twang_ed, and his ears perked up. Sango was nearby.

* * *

Sango peeked out from behind the bushes and saw before her the grandest castle she had ever seen. Drawing in a surprised breath, she told Kirara to stay there, and crept forward until she could peek in through the window. What she saw astounded her. Tapestries were draped over every wall, and even the tatami mats held beautiful, intricate designs.

Just then, she saw Sesshoumaru disappear through the doorway, and ducked down. When she was sure he was gone, she poked her head up again and saw Naname's brother sitting cross-legged on the floor, drinking what looked like blood. Sango gulped instinctively, and watched, perplexed, as he stopped to sniff the air.

The old demon gave a start of surprise and spilled his drink all over himself. He shouted something that Sango couldn't hear to his guards and they hurried in her direction. Before she began to flee, she saw Sesshoumaru rush back in to follow the guards.

Of course, they were far faster than she, so before she was even halfway to where Kirara waited loyally, they, along with Sesshoumaru, had rushed outside and seen her making her way out.

"Human!" they bellowed at her, wielding spears.

Sesshoumaru was furious. He was bristling, and completely stuck. There was no way he could protect Sango without the guards knowing his relationship with her… unless…

"Guards!" he roared, stopping them in their tracks from where they had been charging toward the fleeing Sango. Now she froze, and the taiyoukai continued, "I will take care of this filth. There's no need to dirty your hands."

"There's no need to dirty _your _hands, lord!" they argued as one.

"Are you contradicting me?" Sesshoumaru replied icily, walking over to Sango.

"Of course not, lord!" they exclaimed hurriedly.

"Then go back inside."

"Yes, lord!"

Once the guards were gone, Sesshoumaru really _did _seize Sango around the neck. And it wasn't because the guards might still be watching. She choked and scrabbled at his hand but he didn't release her. "You fool," he snarled at her, enraged. His eyes were red and the stripes on his cheeks lengthened and turned jagged. He didn't seem to know what he was doing. "I told you _not _to come!"

Sango gasped for breath and tried to speak, but the taiyoukai interrupted her and she couldn't talk for lack of breath anyway.

"I will _kill _that cat of yours," he seethed.

Soon, just when black was closing off Sango's vision and she began to feel weak; Sesshoumaru seemed to wake as if from a dream and promptly dropped her. She landed on the ground, coughing and rubbing her throat. He immediately began to kneel next to her, but she scrambled backwards toward Kirara, terrified.

Eyes clear and filled with guilt and remorse, he stretched a hand out toward her. "Sango—"

"Don't touch me!" she rasped hoarsely, reaching Kirara and pulling herself up. There was no need to say where she was going; she was just leaving—anything to get away from him.

As she clambered aboard her demon friend, Sesshoumaru darted forward and roughly yanked her off and into his arms. Pressing her face against his neck and seeming not to care if someone saw him, he mumbled, "I'm sorry."

Sango paused from where she had been struggling relentlessly to get out of his hold.

"But you've got to be careful not to anger me," the taiyoukai went on, feeling terribly guilty and not caring in the slightest that they were standing directly in front of the window. (Fortunately for them, no one was looking their way.)

Sango nodded numbly against his chest. He released her and she gave a weak smile.

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

"It's all right,"she lied as she winced and rubbed again at the bruises on her throat,

He frowned deeply and gently kissed her on her temple; the only show of affection he had bestowed upon her in days. "I know you're not going to leave… so be careful, Sango."

She nodded again and watched him go. Feeling one more time that tender, purpling flesh of her neck, she inwardly berated herself. _You shouldn't have come, _she told herself miserably. _But I didn't know that was going to happen! _She sighed. _I didn't know I would make him angry enough to become… like that…_

* * *

Sesshoumaru was a king on the night of the full moon. He sat cross-legged in his uncle's outdoor pagoda, observing the demoness' by moonlight. Not one had he seen so far would have excited him even without Sango's presence in his heart.

Sango waited in the forest, and, having covered herself with mud earlier that evening, had not yet been sniffed out. She could see Sesshoumaru from where she stood, and observed dreamily that the moon was shining on his silver hair and lit his face with a pale light, and made him all the more beautiful.

On the other side of the open court, Sesshoumaru rested his cheek in his palm and glanced wearily over to where he guessed Sango was waiting, wanting to leave quite desperately. He didn't notice his uncle's cough of embarrassment at his nephew's quite obvious boredom.

Sesshoumaru was just about to give up on enjoying this night at all when another demon, along with his daughter, had approached him, and the taiyoukai had to drag his attention back to where it was supposed to be.

"My lord," he vaguely heard the demon say while bowing before him, "I am Genjuu, and this is my daughter, Hatsumiyo."

By now Sesshoumaru was paying attention, and he couldn't help to lean forward in slight interest; the demoness kneeling before him was by far the most beautiful he had seen on that night. Her face was a perfect oval with a creamy complexion; her eyes were as black as coal, with similarly colored hair; a sharp contrast to the pale color of her skin.

* * *

In the woods, Sango fumed. _That liar! _she thought to herself as she watched her mate observe the pretty demoness kneeling before him. _There he goes, taking interest in that… that devil woman!_

As if able to hear Sango's thoughts, Sesshoumaru paused mid-ogle and leaned back in his seat, still perfectly composed. He said nothing, and, obviously disappointed, Genjuu and Hatsumiyo soon moved on. It seemed his uncle was quite disappointed as well, as Ichiro let out a heavy sigh when Sesshoumaru made no move toward Hatsumiyo besides a quick glance.

The night progressed very slowly, and Sesshoumaru found the rest of the demoness' to be dull compared to the stunning Hatsumiyo—and, of course, Sango. He spent the rest of the evening as he had started out: looking regal, but feeling bored and even the tiniest bit out of place.

Sango was quite pleased by this as she watched him. Every so often his eyes would flash in her direction, as if to reassure her that everything would be fine, and this made her feel warm and content inside. But at the same time, watching the countless girls and their chaperones line up before her mate was both annoying and highly amusing—it seemed none of them stood a chance.

Except, perhaps, Hatsumiyo, and Sango's face flushed with irritation at just the thought of the stunning demoness

* * *

Sitting in the pagoda and quite aware of Sango's feelings, Sesshoumaru was barely paying any heed to the hopeful families filing up in front of him, and was deep in thought. Going back to this place—the castle that had once belonged to his father rather than Naname's dim and bloodthirsty brother Ichiro—had made memories resurface that Sesshoumaru had wanted to forget.

After his father's death and Inuyasha's birth, Sesshoumaru had happily abandoned the castle of his childhood for the life of a nomad. He couldn't stand being around people who simply thought of him as the great daimyo's son. He was not satisfied with that, and he had left to prove his strength.

He did, successfully, though he never went back to his father's castle, and Ichiro took this opportunity to take up residence in the desirable fortress. Had he wanted to, Sesshoumaru would have taken back his childhood home in an instant, but the taiyoukai simply never felt the need to return; he was happy wandering around aimlessly; it was far more pleasing than the stuffy life he had lived when InuTaishou was alive.

Lost in those thoughts, Sesshoumaru didn't notice that the steady flow of demons and demoness' were slowing, until they eventually stopped, and all suddenly knelt before him.

"My nephew," said Ichiro from his position beside the taiyoukai. "It is time."

"Yes, my lord," Sesshoumaru responded diligently, and stood. Surveying the thousands of hopeful clans before him, Sesshoumaru straightened up, threw a quick glance in Sango's direction, and announced, "I have no intention of choosing a mate tonight."

His uncle shot up. "What are you saying, you cur?" he exclaimed angrily.

Sesshoumaru turned on him and glared at him disdainfully. "Are you deaf, old man?" he asked, voice dripping malice. "I said that I have no intention of choosing a mate." With that, the taiyoukai tossed his head and turned, departing to where Sango waited, leaving Ichiro and his audience stunned.

His uncle muttered an oath and turned to his guests, proclaiming, "I am sure that the lord is simply nervous. He has no doubt gone to think, and that is why he said such nonsense. It was just a ruse, my friends."

The unhappy mumbling changed to suspicious mutterings and hopeful squeals. Sesshoumaru's uncle sighed in relief and sat down, trying to think of a solution. Sesshoumaru had to be gotten back, but how? They didn't even know where he went, or why! Surely he had not already taken someone as his mate?

_But why wouldn't he want to tell us? The demon must be very poor… _His pointed ears perked up. _If I get someone to go and follow him, we can see where he's going… but I have to do it now!_

Just then, Hatsumiyo sauntered up to ask a question about Sesshoumaru's whereabouts, and immediately Sesshoumaru's uncle saw she was the one—Genjuu had approached before, exclaiming his daughter's cunning and stealth.

"Hatsumiyo," he said when she opened her mouth. "Could I ask something of you?"

"I would be most honored, my lord," Hatsumiyo said, bowing so low her nose touched the floor. "What is it that the lord wishes of me?"

"Did you feel Sesshoumaru was acting strangely tonight?"

"I would not know, lord, this is my first time seeing him."

Ichiro nodded and sat back. "Very well," he said thoughtfully, and cleared his throat. "Hatsumiyo, what if I was to say that if you were to follow Sesshoumaru, I would guarantee your position as lady of the Western Lands?"

"I would say that his lordship is bribing me," Hatsumiyo answered, not looking up from the tiled floor of the courtyard. The lord Ichiro made a disgruntled noise and began to talk again, more about Sesshoumaru's whereabouts, but Hatsumiyo realized her mistake and hastily interrupted him with, "But also that I would gladly do it, lord."

The taiyoukai's uncle smiled triumphantly. "Good girl," he said, and shooed her off. "Now hurry, he might be long gone!"

"Yes, your lordship," Hatsumiyo said loyally, and got up to rush after Sesshoumaru. As the lord watched her go, he mused once more over why exactly Sesshoumaru had run off.

_Stop it, _Ichiro said to himself, _it's not as if he ran off to meet a human!_

* * *

In the woods, Sesshoumaru stood before Sango haughtily, reminding her of her worry of him straying. "It was just as I said, wasn't it?" he asked. "I didn't even so much as glance at another."

"You looked at that Hatsumiyo demon!" Sango accused him lightly. She had not been going to mention it, but he brought it up, and Sango had thought, _What's the harm?_

"She was beautiful," Sesshoumaru offered as an answer, shrugging his shoulders carelessly. "But I've told you before, Sango, I would never do what that houshi—" Sesshoumaru froze, and took a calming breath as he became conscious of what he had said.

Sango looked at the ground and, sounding broken at the mention of Miroku, murmured, "I know that."

Sesshoumaru opened his mouth, perhaps to apologize, perhaps not, but just then a great gasp was heard from behind them, and the taiyoukai whirled around to where Sango was now staring with horrified eyes.

Hatsumiyo, who had just arrived, was standing with wide eyes behind a tree; it was she who had gasped, obviously. "Sesshoumaru-sama!" she shrieked loudly. "I can't believe it! _A human?_"

He let out a cry and rushed toward her, but she had already begun to race back to spread the word. The taiyoukai, realizing it was too late, stopped short and slowly turned to his mate. "Sango," he said softly. "Run."

* * *

Sesshoumaru looked on helplessly as his mate was strapped to the wooden column rising up from the middle of the outdoor court. _Sango, you fool, _he thought, struggling against the guards holding him back, _I told you to run._

Sango was roaring with fury, but the blades hidden in her sleeves had already been used and removed, and her Hiraikotsu had been abandoned in the fray. Sesshoumaru, rushing to help her, had been grabbed roughly by some thugs, his Tokijin flung away.

"Kill the human!" the demons chanted. "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Burn her alive!" Ichiro roared, eyes alight with terrifying malice. "No! Too pleasant! _Eat her_!" He turned to the besieged Sesshoumaru and smiled humourlessly. "We'll deal with you later, pup."

Wordlessly, Sango watched as the drooling creatures crept closer to her. Turning to viciously chew at her bonds, Sango was growing more frenzied by the minute. Realizing that trying to bite her way out was futile, she turned to throw a desperate glance at Sesshoumaru.

When the taiyoukai saw her eyes, he looked at his uncle, standing before him, wearing that vile grin, and used all his strength to break away from the big demons holding him back. Once free, Sesshoumaru struck at his uncle with one clawed fist, knocking him back into the pagoda with a crash.

Ichiro's hand flew to his bleeding mouth and nose, eyes wide and fixed on the stationary Sesshoumaru, who was panting a little from the effort and scowling at his uncle. Running his tongue over his teeth, Ichiro grimaced, spitting out one pearly canine. "You cur," he growled, wiping away some of the blood that was flowing from his face in a surprising torrent.

Sesshoumaru was not looking. He had darted ahead and struck at all the demons that opposed him rabidly while making his way to the struggling Sango. When they began to come at him with swords rather than fists, turning to Sango with weapons as well, the infuriated taiyoukai ordered angrily, loudly, "Don't touch my mate!"The demons in front of him and Sango all paused, and Sesshoumaru took that time to take them out, ignoring his uncle's enraged screams from behind.

"Your _mate_!" he was hollering. "You are telling me that not only have you taken this human to your _bed_, you have also claimed her as your _mate_? Despicable! Disgusting! Di—"

Before Ichiro could continue, Sesshoumaru had paused from his mission to rescue Sango, having dispatched all the demons hurting Sango and trying to stop him, to turn around and step up to his uncle and hiss, "One more word, uncle, and I will kill you."

Ichiro swallowed hard and lost all the bravery he had not a moment before. Legs shaking piteously, he watched as Sesshoumaru stepped up to Sango and raised a claw, tearing through the ropes in one swipe. He watched as she near fell into his arms, and as his arms clasped around the small of her back without hesitation. He watched his nephew turned and as his Whip of Light glittered for a moment from the tip of one index finger.

Ichiro watched nothing more.

* * *

Sango woke with a start on a comfortable straw mat back in the warm bamboo hut she knew so well. Rin was next to her, weaving flowers together. When she saw Sango was awake, she hurriedly stuck the crown, or necklace, or whatever it was behind her back.

"Sango-sama," she squealed. "You're awake! How are you feeling? You've been sleeping for ages! Sesshoumaru-sama told Rin to tell you that he is out."

A little confused by this amount of information, Sango nodded and decided to answer the little girl's only question. "I feel fine, Rin-chan. How long have I been sleeping for, exactly?"

"One day," Rin informed her with a professional air. "Rin's been watching over you," she added proudly.

"Thank you, Rin-chan," Sango said softly, standing and noticing that she was in a plain white yukata.

"Rin washed that," came Rin's voice. "You were covered in blood when you and Sesshoumaru-sama got back, and he said to put you to sleep, so Rin put you in that yukata and washed your kimono! It's in the other room."

"Thank you, Rin-chan," Sango repeated automatically. Slipping into an adjoining room so she could change privately, Sango called out to the little girl waiting patiently, "I'm going to go find Sesshoumaru."

When Sango came out a moment later, Rin was sitting on the mat where Sango had been sleeping with a thoughtful look on her face. "Sango-sama," she said, almost sadly, "you and Sesshoumaru-sama are almost like my mother and father."

That made Sango blush terribly, and mumble something incomprehensible before slipping out the door.

* * *

Far away, in an abandoned fortress, the figure of a young man sat behind a desk, looking into space in contemplative manner. This young man had brown hair and green eyes, and one hand that drifted down to where, below the desk, a bloody sword rested. This young man was Tohyama, once again masquerading as the unfortunate Kyo.

The demon was too weak to transform into another poor young creature that he had hunted down and destroyed, or into his true form, for that matter.

_Damn, _he thought bitterly, absentmindedly drawing a picture in the dust that covered the table like a blanket. _Had not Sesshoumaru destroyed the heads on my body, I would still be able to fight…_

Indeed, when Tohyama had killed Miroku in the previous battle, Sesshoumaru, taking in Sango's sorrow, had attacked Tohyama with vicious strength, throwing Dragon Strike after powerful Dragon Strike at the formerly confident demon. The taiyoukai had destroyed well over half of the heads that sat on top of Tohyama's many tentacles, reducing him to Kyo's form, and Kyo's form alone.

_It is time to hunt, _Tohyama thought, thinking of how he needed to go out and find more people and more weak demons to feed on, for without them, he was grounded at this castle; he knew he could not defeat Sesshoumaru and his troop with a weak human body.

Tohyama had found this fortress purely by chance, strolling by on the search for a couple of supple human forms to use. He had passed in front of the huge stone structure and had paused to look at its grandeur, wanting to making it his. Walking inside without a second thought, and without the knowledge that their strongest warriors were away at battle, Tohyama massacred those who were inside with a sword he had picked up from a human whose head had rotted almost instantly after he attempted using it.

Like that human, when Tohyama tried the commoners' heads on for size, they had soon rotted away, leaving him back where he started.

Pulling himself out of his troubling thoughts, Tohyama leaned forward and rested his head heavily in one palm, while the other paused from completing the masterpiece in the dust to perform a dance in the air. If you were looking in from a window, it might have looked like a cute young human was examining his hand; but really, Tohyama was conjuring up a strange spell…

Soon, a sphere appeared in the air where his hand had been waving, its colour a dull grey, ever swirling in perfect spirals. He seemed to prod it, and an image appeared.

It was of Sango.

_Has she recovered? _he wondered maliciously, peering into the hovering screen. He saw Sango wandering in a bright, sunlit wood as if in search for something. Listening carefully to her thoughts, he was shocked to discover that her thoughts were not on the houshi as he first thought they would be, but on the little girl Rin's words.

_A child, _Tohyama thought, recalling how he himself had been thinking of an heir to carry on his legacy for fear he would die in battle—perhaps against the great Sesshoumaru. _A son. _His eyes locked over Sango's slim form, hurrying through the forest.

He smiled a small, cruel smile and waved one hand over the sphere; it promptly disappeared. _Sango, my dear, _the demon thought, _you are perfect._

* * *

"Sesshoumaru!" called Sango softly as she padded through the mossy, sun-drenched wood, wanting to apologize for sneaking along to his uncle's house and causing so much trouble. He was nowhere in sight, yet Rin had said this was where he was to be found. The taijiya heaved a sigh and hollered into the trees, "Sesshoumaru!"

"Hush. I was thinking," came a sour voice from in front of her.

Sango turned and saw, to her surprise, Sesshoumaru relaxing at the base of a thick tree. He was bathed in shadow, and had he not spoken, Sango would have walked past, believing him to be some strange growth in the wood.

"S-sorry," she stammered, walking over and crouching down beside him. "I just wanted to apologize for"—she paused, and thought of how one apology couldn't make up for the fact that Sesshoumaru had killed his own uncle without hesitation, just for her—"everything."

"You don't have to. That bastard deserved everything he got," the taiyoukai retorted, seemingly able to read Sango's thoughts, as he was, quite obviously, referring to the departed Ichiro.

Sango bit her lip. "I know," she said truthfully, "but…"

"Don't," Sesshoumaru ordered, successfully cutting her off. "I've no interest in hearing your apologies."

Sango stood, and locked her hands together behind her back, walking ahead and out of his gaze. "I know, but—"

Then she was gone.

Sesshoumaru stood immediately, sniffing the air, and finding her scent completely gone, as if she had never been. "Sango," he called softly, stepping after her. The leaves were still drifting slowly to the ground from when they had been stirred up by Sango's sudden disappearance. He crouched, nose to the ground, and sniffed once again.

His face screwed up in anger, his lip curling in an infuriated snarl as he stood, eyes crimson, stripes jagged, and let loose an oath to match no other. He gripped an orange leaf in his hand, and there it slowly turned black and melted away thanks to Sesshoumaru's acid poison.

Tohyama had stood there.

* * *

"My, my," Tohyama mused as he drifted back the way he had come, an unconscious Sango clutched in one of his tentacles. Glancing around at the demons and farmers who now resided on the tips of his tentacles thanks to a quick bout around the village and the small wood that encircled it, he purred, as if expecting them to respond, "Quite the jealous type, huh?"

He glanced down at Sango's limp form, and twirled in satisfaction the slightly bloody tentacle that had been the one to savagely bash her across the head before picking her up and starting his way back to the castle. Smirking at the distress he had seen pass across Sesshoumaru's face before the anger came, Tohyama thought to himself, _Who knew she would turn out to be this important to him…?_

* * *

Sango was suddenly yanked out of her nightmare-filled sleep when her wild thrashing sent her careening off the platform her futon was placed on. She landed on the floor with a crash and her hands flew to her aching head. She ran her fingers over what felt like a somewhat sticky bandage, and snatched her hand back only to find the tips of her fingers bloody.

She sat up and looked around, having no idea where she was, or why her head was bleeding. The drabness of the room stirred nothing in her memory, and it was only when she saw the note tacked to the wood of the wall that she recalled what had happened. Standing, and ignoring the horrible dizziness, the taijiya stormed up and yanked the piece of paper of the wall and read it, lips moving along with the characters.

_My dear Sango,_

_I hope your sleep was peaceful_

Sango thought grimly of the dream that had woken her, and shook her head. It had been a nightmare that had haunted her dreams since the night… that horrible night… when she had been separated from Miroku forever.

_and I have supplied fresh bandages for you head have you need to change them._

_I will be back soon to bring you your supper._

_Tohyama_

The taijiya groaned and slumped to the floor. What she could not fully remember logic filled in for her, but, as far as she knew, she had been standing on the forest floor, talking to Sesshoumaru, for one moment, then in the air the next. Tohyama must have bashed her head in order to keep her from crying out.

_As if that will stop Sesshoumaru from knowing what happened, _Sango thought dryly, and vowed to herself that she would get out before Tohyama had the chance to realize his plan.

Walking up to the shoji, and hoping that the demon had not barred it, Sango began to tug, expecting nothing, and when it began to slide open, she resisted letting out a murmur of pleased surprise, so as to not attract any unwanted attention to herself.

Peeking out into the hall and finding no one in sight, Sango slipped out and began to sidle along the wall, but not before slipping off her sandals so she could pad along silently in her socks. Soon she reached a corner, and, forgetting to check if there was anyone there, foolishly blundered forward only to crash into someone's chest.

"Sango!" came Tohyama's surprised voice. "I was just coming with your dinner. I didn't realize you were so hungry that you'd come looking for _me_." There was something malicious in the smile that was on his face—_Kyo's _face; Sango could barely stand to look at it—right then, and when he stepped over the tray of food that he had dropped when Sango barreled into him to catch her chin in his hands and turn her face from left to right in examination, his evil smile grew wider and he murmured, "Satisfactory."

"Satisfactory?" Sango repeated, slapping his hand away and flipping backwards and out of his reach. "What do you mean? Satisfactory for what?"

"Hmm?" Tohyama exclaimed lightly, bending over to suck the dirt into a portal that he had conjured. When he straightened up again, the floor was spotless and Sango stared at it in horror. Not noticing her gaze, he answered calmly, "Sango, that is not for you to know."

Before the taijiya could demand an answer, he took her elbow in one hand and began to steer her back in the direction of her room, balancing the tray—also clean—in the other. "Now, if I could show you where your room is again…"

"Get your filthy paws off of me!" Sango snarled, pulling out of his grasp and charging at him as her hidden blades ripped through her sleeves.

Tohyama watched, unconcerned, as the blades whipped toward him, and Sango screamed in triumph when he didn't dodge, only to stop short when he calmly caught the two daggers in his fingers merely an inch before they tore through Kyo's face. "Sango," he drawled, "it is _very _impolite to attack your host when they have done so much for you." He smirked. "Did you notice? I even wrapped up your head, which has quite a nasty bruise on it, by the way."

"You're also the one who hit it!" Sango fired back angrily, drawing back and coming at him again, and again. Each time he caught her, until finally his eyes narrowed, and he, tiring of the game, through her back into the wall in such a way that her head hit it with a _bang _and she crumpled to the floor, barely conscious.

Tohyama then picked her up and hoisted her up onto his back securely. With only a glance at the smear of blood that Sango had left when she had crashed into the wall, he returned to her room, making sure he barred the door behind him this time.

_TBC_


	4. Complete Violation

**Chapter 4: Complete Violation**

"Nnnn…" Sango murmured as she stirred for the second time that day. Sitting up with a start, and crying out at the pounding of her head, the taijiya swore viciously at Tohyama and threw away the blanket. Standing and hurrying over to the door, she tried to wrench it open, and, finding it stuck fast, as she unconsciously knew it would be, only succeeding in pulling the muscle in her forearm.

Gripping her cranium in exasperation as the pain in her head roared through her shaking form, Sango crept back to the futon and plunked down on it, defeated. She glanced desperately around for a window to crawl through, but Tohyama had chosen the room wisely; an oil lamp directly above her head gave off the only light.

There was no sunlight to speak of, so, in other words, no window.

Sango let out a long sigh and let her eyes rove over the room, just incase there was something she might've missed—wait! Catching sight of something strange, Sango shot up and pushed aside a colorful curtain to the shoji behind. The door had been disguised as a wall, but Sango, having encountered these kind of doors before, had immediately recognized it when she saw a bit poking out from behind the curtain.

She smirked. Apparently Tohyama had not noticed this; it must have been a way out of the fortress had the original owners been under attack. She hurried out the shoji and down a long, dank corridor with gunk in the corners and mold hanging down from the ceiling. When she had been in the tunnel for a while (it had been going steadily downward, she noticed), she gave up hope that this went anywhere other than maybe a cave-in, and was about to turn back when she spotted a strange red-orange light from around the next corner.

Confident that she had reached the end, and that that funny light was the light of the sun setting—for she had lost track of time completely—she hurried forward and stopped short when she saw that she had been wrong. Oh, so wrong.

It was a small room, just as dank and disgusting as the corridor, and the walls were lined with chains to strap prisoners do. It was a torture chamber, filled with millions upon millions of three-inch tall candles made out of crimson wax.

And they were all _lit. _Every single candle in that tiny room was glowing with orange light.

Sango stepped cautiously forward, feeling very nervous. Though this was a room that had seemingly not been used, as there was not a speck of blood on the walls or floor, it still gave her the creeps more than any other torture chamber she had seen—and she had seen many; she had been held captive in these types of rooms many times when she had been traveling with Inuyasha and Kagome in their search for the jewel shards.

She thought to herself, _I want to get out of here—now! _Then, Sango noticed there was a door on the other side of the room that she had not noticed thanks to the glare of the candles. She, positive that this was the emergency exit, hurried forward and down another dank corridor exactly the same as the first one—she thanked the gods that there were no fork in her path, otherwise she would have been completely lost—but found, at the end, that her first thought had been quite right.

At the end of the tunnel, all there was were the signs of a cave-in: boulders littered the floor, and dirt dripped steadily down from the ceiling, signaling to Sango in that this tunnel could collapse again at any time, and, just in case, it might be best to get out of there, even if it meant going back to the odd place with all the candles, and then back to her room.

Groaning, Sango hurried past the room without a glance around—for fear that she might notice something she had not the first time… a decaying skeleton, perhaps—and back up to her room. The taijiya had just shut the door behind her when she heard footsteps approaching her room at a steady pace.

Thanking the gods for her good fortune, Sango made sure she swung the heavy curtain back into place before sitting down on her futon and trying to look depressed. There was the sound of something large sliding away from the shoji, and one second later it slid open, and Tohyama stepped in, holding a tray of food.

"Sango, I just now remembered that you never got your dinner." He smiled shallowly, and dropped the tray unceremoniously at her feet, where the miso soup splashed out over her legs, and rice littered the bedspread. "Here."

Sango sniffed at it, and turned away. "I wouldn't eat that even if I was starving," she said disdainfully, pushing it away and accidentally spilling more of it onto her futon.

Tohyama laughed and said, "It's not poisoned. Why would I poison the mother of my child before I'd even had the chance to bed her?"

Sango's head shot up and met his grinning green orbs, praying that she had misheard. "What?" she said sharply, suddenly short of breath. "What is this nonsense?"

"Hmm? Nonsense?" Tohyama cocked his head to the side innocently, crouched, and leaned forward till their noses were almost touching all in the time before Sango had the chance to scramble backwards. "I assure you, this is not nonsense."

Sango, fearing for what might become of her now that Tohyama had revealed his dastardly plans, slapped him hard enough to make his human form reel backward, and scurried to the back of the room, as if this would somehow protect her.

"Wretch," Tohyama seethed, rubbing his cheek. He stood again and went to the door, sliding it open with a decisive _clack_. He stepped through the doorframe and turned; his profile was painfully sharp against the dimming sunlight that filtered through the window opposite as he tossed this final comment over his shoulder: "Be prepared, Sango, I will come for you."

* * *

Sango paced back and forth frantically in the small room in which she was trapped, trying to convince herself that Tohyama had _not _said that she would be the mother of his children, and that he had instead said something utterly mundane.

"Don't worry, Sango," she said, faking cheer and laughing in a very shrill tone. "Your hearing has never been good." But her hearing had always been fine, and she knew this perfectly well.

An hour later, still wide-awake, she paused from her pacing and saw that she was shaking terribly. When Sango realized she could no longer hide from the truth, she plopped down on the futon, exhausted and afraid. "N-no," she stammered, possibly the most afraid she had ever been in her entire life. "I-I have to be brave. Sessh… Sesshoumaru will come for me—I mean, I'll get myself out of here!"

"Go to sleep!" she told herself. "You'll know what to do in the morning!" Not at all confident that that plan would solve her problem, she stood, extinguished the oil lamp, and crept under the covers, forcing her eyes shut.

But, no matter how hard she tried, they kept snapping open and bouncing across the room in another futile search for a hidden exit she might have missed from her earlier search. The taijiya turned over and buried her face in the covers, shutting off her eyes' access to the world. Soon, having nothing better to do, she _did _fall asleep.

She had no idea what a stupid thing to do that had been…

* * *

It was the strange light that woke Sango up.

The reddish glow bore into her closed orbs painfully, and she went to cover her eyes with her hand, but found that she could not move. It was then that her eyes snapped open in horror, and she saw that she was chained to the wall in the room she had discovered earlier; the candles were still lit, and it was that light that had woken her up.

Her head snapped to the side, and she saw to her horror that she was _naked_, and that her hands were chained at the wrists to the stone, so she scrunched up her legs to her chest in an attempt to cover herself. Looking around fearfully, she watched Tohyama enter the room with a pleased smile on his face that grew only wider when he saw that she was awake.

"Sango," he said pleasantly, "I'm happy to see you're awake. You are quite a deep sleeper, you know… even when I stole into your room and picked you up to bring you here, you simply slept on in my arms."

"You _bastard_!" she screamed, fighting against her bonds. "Let me _go_!"

"Shh," he cooed, stepping toward her. "By any chance, did you think you were the only one to know about this chamber?" Her silence was his answer, and he laughed. "Why do you think I put you in that room? So I could deposit you here easily, of course. And I knew you would find the tunnel before too long, thinking it was a way out. Well, it was, Sango, _I _caused the cave-in."

He stepped toward her, and she hollered at him, "Stay away from me! Don't touch me!" As he grew closer, her cries grew more frenzied, until they were just one continuing, _"NONONONONO!"_

"Sango," Tohyama said sweetly, now close enough to touch as he slid his loose blue gi off his shoulders, "you _will _bear me a son."

Her screams echoed through the fortress that night.

* * *

_I… have… to… leave…_

When Sango next awoke, she, dressed in a simple white yukata, was lying on the futon back in her room, and there was a nurse bending over her. Early morning light slipped in from behind the doorframe, and the taijiya, ignoring the startled nurse, shot up into sitting position, hugging her body to herself and rocking back and forth, nearly beside herself with horror.

"Hello," said the woman, who happened to be an innocent human housewife. Sango looked at her numbly and the girl smiled. "You've been sick for near three weeks, you have. My, what a fever! Delirious too."

"F-fever?" the taijiya repeated slowly. When she looked around, and her eyes focused on the door hidden behind the curtain, she latched onto the nurse by the collar of her kimono and pleaded, "T-tell me I'm… I'm not…"

"You're…?" the nurse repeated, pushing Sango back. Soon her face brightened, and she said, "Oh, you mean if you're pregnant or not. Well," the human beamed, "I'm happy to say that you _are_!"

Sango reeled backwards and buried her face in her hands.

"Yes, you must be _so _excited. The young master is too." The nurse stood, and gathered her things. "Come and get me whenever you want, mistress. The young master employed me just after you got pregnant, as you fell ill right afterward, you poor dear. My name is Mikoto."

Sango didn't respond, though she did look up at the morning light coming through the door that Mikoto had just opened.

_Morning, _the taijiya thought dimly. _It's morning. Isn't there something that pregnant women get… that has to do with morning? _Immediately, she realized. _Oh, gods… morning sickness. _As soon as the thought had passed through her mind, she promptly vomited all over her bedcovers.

"Mistress!" squealed Mikoto, dropping her things and hurrying over. "Don't worry, mistress, it's only morning sickness."

Wiping her mouth off as her eyes blurred with tears, Sango allowed Mikoto to help her and scurried out from under the soiled blanket to go and collapse against the far wall. _Oh, Sesshoumaru, _she thought miserably. _What will you say when you find out that I am pregnant with… pregnant with… _She faltered, swallowed, and went on. _With Tohyama's child?_

When she thought of Sesshoumaru, she felt the desperate need to escape magnify to an even greater power. Looking at the open door, and then at Mikoto, sweetly fixing up her futon, Sango bolted without hesitation out into the hall as fast as her shaking legs could take her.

Sango hurried down the dark corridor lit only by the piercing shafts of golden sunlight streaming in through the tall, thin windows. Suddenly feeling sick again, Sango paused to bend over and vomit onto the fancy marble floor. Minutes later, spent, the taijiya stood and furiously wiped off her mouth. _Damn,_ she thought miserably.

She looked up, and around. _What can I do? _But then she straightened up, and held herself high. Though she failed to stop the involuntary shaking of her shoulders, Sango thought to herself, _Run. I must run._

And she did. Though she knew it was none too good for the child, did she really want to have Tohyama's child anyway? In any case, she raced down the corridor and slowed down at the corner, remembering what happened last time. After sidling up to the edge and discovering there was no one there, however, she relaxed and started down the hall.

Though she was cautious, it turned out that she had no need to be, for soon she began to hear a great commotion from the front of the fortress, and peeked out at the next window to see Tohyama, with all his appendages flapping about him, the heads that he had gained recently on the ends flopping hideously, doing battle with what must have started out as twenty men but had now been reduced to ten.

Thinking that this might be her only chance to get out, while Tohyama was distracted, she hurried away and when she eventually reached the entrance, she foolishly poked her head out, just to see what was going on. She saw that there were five now, and they were all battling furiously… but then one paused, and Sango saw to her horror that he was staring straight at her.

"He's taken a girl!" the soldier shouted.

Another followed his gaze and sent up a cry, "We must rescue her!"

Tohyama turned to her slowly and Kyo's face half-smiled. "Sango," he purred. One of his tentacles darted out and snatched her around the waist—very gently, now—and brought her over to the men, where he promptly tossed her into the crowd.

The five remaining hurried to catch her, and catch her they did—she landed securely in five sets of arms.

"Th-thanks," she mumbled, standing up and glaring at Tohyama.

"No matter," said one automatically before turning to his comrades and hissing, "What can we do? I don't want to chance attempting finishing this battle when we might all die and leave this girl to the monster!"

"Agreed," said the others.

"But I wish to defeat this monster," exclaimed one, and his friend nodded in agreement. "I will not abandon this fight!"

The one who had first spoken shot a quick glance at Tohyama, who was waiting patiently, a bemused smile placed on Kyo's handsome face. "Fine. Us three," he gestured to himself and two friends, "will go with her," he pointed to Sango, "and you two," he nodded in the direction of his fellows who wished to defeat Tohyama, "will stay here and _finish this fight_!"

Before Sango could plead with the valiant warriors who wanted to stay, one of the soldiers who were leaving grabbed her around the waist and began to drag her to the gates. But, before they managed to escape, Tohyama's voice cut through the air, and Sango stopped short, glaring at the demon with defiance in her eyes.

"Sango," Tohyama said lightly, having decided this ages before. "The child is to be called Nobuyuki."

Before Sango could reply with a vicious oath, the warrior had dragged her out of the gates and hurried her away. As they were descending the hill the fortress was placed on, two piercing screams cut through the air, and the three men stopped short and turned back.

"Shuichi… Aritomo," murmured one, and squeezed his eyes shut—maybe to suppress tears?

Another shook his head and said sharply, "Come along."

* * *

After convincing the loyal three that she could travel perfectly well on her own, Sango set off alone, and, after one good day of traveling, was exhausted and would gladly welcome some company.

And company she did get.

Suddenly, a demon that stood eight foot tall leaped down from the trees overhead, and landed with a crash just a couple of feet in front of her with a cackle and a quick flash of its rather disgusting and yellowed teeth.

Having no weapon, and too tired to put up any fight, Sango darted to the left and dashed past the demon, praying that it was slow and stupid; that she could outrun it.

The taijiya ran for a hideously long time, barely a step ahead of the demon, before it gave up with a scream of anger. Once it had retreated, Sango stumbled on and, minutes later, reached a rice paddy, smiling an almost insanely relieved smile, only to collapse facedown in the water.

The farmers attending to it immediately rushed over to rouse her, and, after a good shaking, Sango woke with a start, mumbling about needing to get back to Sesshoumaru, and the Okkanai Village, which was what her village had been called before it had been mysteriously abandoned.

"Okkanai?" one of the farmers repeated, scratching his head and releasing Sango's thin shoulder. "Why, that's just over there!" He pointed to a hill just past the paddy, and with a cry of joy as she recognized it as the rise that separated her village from another, Sango set off at a stumbling run toward her home without even bothering to thank the men and women who had helped her.

When the taijiya crept over that hill, almost on her hands and knees with exhaustion, when her eyes landed on the home that she had left what seemed like years ago, she cried out and raced toward her home and bounded through the open space that served at the door with a cry of, _"Sesshoumaru!"_

But Sesshoumaru wasn't there. Rin, however, was sitting on the mat where Sango always slept, completely hunched over with her hands shielding her eyes. She was shaking, and the occasional sob would escape. The little girl did not look up when Sango arrived.

Sango, tiredness forgotten, knelt by Rin and pulled her into a bear hug with a whisper of, "Rin-chan!"

Rin was still for a second, before letting out a broken _"Sango-sama!"_ and wrapping her little arms around the taijiya as best she could. "Oh, Sango-sama, master Jaken told Rin you were dead… and—and…"

"Hush, Rin-chan," Sango cooed, releasing the little girl and wiping away her tears. "I am here now." Just then, she noticed the deep bags under the little girl's eyes, and whispered, "Have you not slept?"

"Not in days, Sango-sama!" Rin admitted, blinking to keep her eyes open and leaning heavily against Sango. "And… and Sesshoumaru-sama hasn't returned from the forest… Rin has been so worried…" Sango was positive Rin meant to say more, but the little girl suddenly relaxed completely against the taijiya's form, and after a moment of panic, Sango realized she had simply fallen asleep.

Laying the girl down on the straw mat and dragging a blanket up around her shoulders securely, Sango left Rin asleep while she went out to the forest to find Sesshoumaru.

* * *

_It's no use,_ Sesshoumaru thought sullenly as he sat in the tree overlooking the spot where Sango was taken. _I've searched this entire forest for Tohyama's scent, but to no avail… I just hope she's alive… _He sighed and both hands fisted in his robes, the claws shredding the material. _Sango… why couldn't I have protected you?_

Before he could berate himself more, an exhausted cry echoed from the woods: "Sesshoumaru!"

He immediately jumped down from the tree and sniffed the air. _That scent—! _he thought. _Impossible! But… _Just in case his nose was not fooling him, and his ears were not deceiving him, the taiyoukai dashed forward and within seconds had made it to where Sango stood, hands cupped over her mouth to make her shout louder.

The taijiya had been about to let loose another cry when Sesshoumaru barreled into her with enough strength to knock her over, and she was positive she would have, had not Sesshoumaru held her up.

"Sango," he murmured, and squeezed her tighter. "Oh, Sango—I… I thought…"

Though he had squeezed all the air out of her lungs and she could not talk, she responded by wrapping her arms around him and stubbornly blinking away tears.

Realizing that he was probably suffocating her, Sesshoumaru loosened his hold only to bury his face in her neck.

"Sesshoumaru," Sango sighed, and done what Rin had done with the taijiya minutes before; her exhausted body collapsed against her mate in a deep, deep sleep.

* * *

Sango slept for what seemed like days to Sesshoumaru, and what seemed like hours to Sango after she had woken up and discovered that she was still tired. Rin, who had woken up by the time Sesshoumaru barged in, hoisting Sango's limp form over his shoulder, deduced that Sango had slept for about twelve hours.

In any case, when Sango woke up, it was in the late afternoon of the following day, when the sun was just beginning to set. Rin had gone out to "play" with Jaken; in other words, she would chase him around the nearby field as he ran away from her, all the while screeching. Sango and Sesshoumaru had been left alone.

The taijiya, suddenly wide-awake, clambered over to Sesshoumaru and was going to boldly settle herself into his lap when, suddenly, he pushed her away roughly and demanded, "Why are you with child?"

Sango responded with a horrified "Oh…!" and then buried her face in her hands. "Oh, Sesshoumaru," she wept. "I would never have… you don't understand!" Glancing at his furious expression accompanied by sad eyes, she spluttered, "It—it was Tohyama…!"

The taiyoukai stood up and roared, "_Tohyama _did this to you?"

Sango looked away from him and mumbled, "Yes… I'm sosorry…"

He bent over then, and Sango thought it was to strike her, so she flinched instinctively, but instead of hitting her, Sesshoumaru gathered her up in his arms and howled, "I've failed you, Sango. I couldn't be there when you needed me most, and _this _is what's come of it!"

* * *

"Nine months passed so quickly," cooed Sango as she lay back on the futon, drenched in sweat from the effort of giving birth. Sesshoumaru sat next to her, a rather stony look on his face, and when the his mate glanced back at him and saw his expression, her eyes dimmed sadly for a moment before she turned back to her midwife and held her arms out expectantly.

The young woman serving as Sango's midwife hurriedly wrapped the newborn up and delivered him into Sango's arms without a word, eyes to the ground. That done, she stood, murmured, "My work here is done," and all but fled the room.

Sango narrowed her eyes in confusion, and wondered, _What was the matter with her? _Pushing that question aside, she looked down at her son and her eyes widened to plate-like proportions as she removed some of the blankets. "He… he—" she stammered, holding him up before her gently, "he's _green._"

And he was. The little boy, who had not let loose one cry since the time of his birth, was a strange, almost sickly shade of green. He had piercing red eyes that glared back at anything that seemed to catch them, and maroon stripes on his cheeks that darkened at the end, along with very long and pointed ears.

Sango shook her head to rid herself of negative thoughts, and focused on her child, bringing it to her breast. She would do anything in order to keep her mind off who the father was…

Soon she glanced at Sesshoumaru, who had not cracked a smile the entire time, no less said even one word. Now he stared down at his stepson with what might have been taken for revulsion, and droned, "What shall we call him?"

"His father," Sango said quietly, cradling the newborn babe in her arms and ignoring the initial twinge of disgust she felt when she mentioned the wicked demon, "said he was to be called… Nobuyuki."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed when he heard that, but he wisely chose not to say anything.

* * *

Sango had decided from before the child was born that she would not tell Nobuyuki of his real father until he was twelve years old. Unfortunately, Nobuyuki was quite a lot like Tohyama, and the taijiya saw him in her son every day, and it pained her to look at him. Though he could not change shape, Nobuyuki held the same cruelty in his eyes, and had since he was tiny.

Thanks to that, and the rest of the similarities, Sango, along with Sesshoumaru, who had been avoiding the child from the start, began to spend lots of time in the wood, leaving Nobuyuki with Rin, now a capable nine year old, and the aging Jaken.

Every evening, Sango and Sesshoumaru would return for dinner, until finally, when Nobuyuki was two and a half years old, both he and Rin—not to mention Sesshoumaru—noticed that Sango was getting big with child, a child by Sesshoumaru this time.

Nobuyuki was not a talkative child, in fact, he was very sullen, but when the taijiya began to show, he shot up and let out a shout of, "No!"

Sango dropped her chopsticks from where she had been eating dinner, startled, and asked, "Nobuyuki-chan, what's wrong?"

He exclaimed with a glare, "No baby!"

Rin had been the one to explain where babies came from to a cranky Nobuyuki one sunny afternoon the previous week.

Just as Sango opened her mouth to respond, Sesshoumaru cut in with, "The sun is setting." Sango's eyes widened and her head snapped toward the open door without a sound. Inclining her head toward it, a feeble Jaken crawled out of the back room and shut it.

Nobuyuki had glanced around then, confused as to why they had changed the subject when suddenly the sun dropped below the horizon and he grabbed his head, curling up on the floor as the night of the new moon began.

Tohyama's son was not like other hanyou children, though he was treated the same. Had his secret gotten out, the boy would have never been able to leave the house. You see, when it was the evening of the new moon, instead of changing into a human, like Inuyasha and all the others, he transformed into a horrible, violent monster.

Sango hurried and picked her son up, taking him to the back room to muffle his cries. He writhed in her arms and she rocked him back and forth, the fact that he was Tohyama's son forgotten, whispering, "It's okay. It will pass. Shh, now." All that mattered now was that _her _son was in pain, and she wanted to end it as quickly as possible.

And it did. When Sango opened her eyes again, she held in her arms a black creature with four elongated, spider-like legs, huge purple eyes… there was nothing human about it.

Nobuyuki glanced up at her with his sad now lavender eyes, and then promptly struck at her viciously. She instinctively let him go so her hands could fly to her bleeding shoulder and face, and he scurried to the back of the room to hide himself behind a chest.

Sango crept toward her son, a pitiful expression on her face, and held out a hand toward him. "Nobuyuki," she crooned, wiping a smear of blood out of her eye. "Come here. I'm not going to hurt you."

He did not come forward, though it was not as if he could not understand her. He understood everything perfectly, as his hanyou self was raging inside the monster. He roared something indistinguishable, and buried further into the dark crawlspace between the chest and the wall.

Looking back on it, Sango thought that night would never end. But that was always how she felt on the night of the new moon when she had to soothe Nobuyuki. But it was not so with her daughter, Sayuri, as she simply became a human girl…

Sayuri was born when Nobuyuki was three years old. She was a beautiful, pale-skinned child with almost no markings whatsoever—had she not had pointed ears and a small navy blue crescent on her forehead, she could have easily passed for a human. As a young girl, she was bright, funny, imaginative—but only to the people who bothered to get to know her properly. To the villagers who shunned her and brushed her off, Sayuri was cold—almost cruelly so.

It was not her nature to act that way, and Sango always thought she picked it up from Nobuyuki.

* * *

Nobuyuki did not take to his sister too well at the start. He would watch as his mother gently cared for her, and as she bestowed more attention upon the baby girl than she _ever _had upon the poor boy.

This made him very angry, and confused. As far as he knew, he was just as much Sango and Sesshoumaru's child as _she _was, so why didn't he get as much attention? Perhaps if Sango had not neglected the boy so much for the first four years of his life, he might've have turned out quite… differently.

But he was not lavished upon.

Before Sayuri's birth, Sango would spend all day in the woods with Sesshoumaru, but now she spent all day in the hut, playing with Sayuri while Nobuyuki sulked in a corner. Even Sesshoumaru was starting to visit the woods less and less.

But when Nobuyuki turned four, when Sango caught him crying in his room, everything changed. Suddenly, instead of spending literally every waking moment with Sayuri, she slowly began to adjust to caring for her son as well. And though he never would have admitted it, Nobuyuki was quite enjoying it.

It had been a sunny morning when Sango had heard the muffled sobs.

"Sayuri!" she had been cooing, her young daughter cradled in her arms. Tapping her daughter's nose and beaming when she let out a squeal of delight, Sango gently set Sayuri down on the futon, needing water.

As Sango made to leave the hut, she heard, very soft, muffled crying, and immediately turned to the closed door of the back room, where the sounds were coming from. She panicked, thinking something was the matter with Rin, and hurried to the room. It never occurred to her that it might be her son.

Sango all but threw the door open, and stopped short when she saw her green-skinned son curled up in a corner, his back shaking with the force of his sobs. After a moment's hesitation, she hurried to him and wrapped her arms around his trembling form.

He had glanced up, and his eyes had sparkled with another onslaught of tears when he saw who was bending over him. Nobuyuki had immediately pushed her away with a choked sob, and it was then, when Sango fell backwards on her behind, that the taijiya seemed to finally realize that she had done everything wrong.

Despite the fact that he _was _Tohyama's son, and despite the fact that she saw him in her son every time she looked at him, that didn't mean that it was Nobuyuki's fault that she had been raped. The hanyou was completely innocent, and it was only when she saw his mask fall away that she woke up to that fact.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and crept up to him again, gathering the young boy into her arms without any hesitation.

He froze for a moment, before turning to her and allowing his hands to fist in her kimono with a broken hiss of, "Why, mother?"

A couple minutes later, he pushed her away so he could wipe away his tears and put back on his mask of silence and stoniness. He then stood, and from then on, it seemed to an onlooker that things were the same as they always had been, but anyone bothering to look hard enough could see that Nobuyuki's cold crimson eyes held a certain warmth now—when he was looking at Sango, at least.

Unfortunately, when Sango began to warm up to Nobuyuki, Sesshoumaru did _not _approve.

"Sango," he called to her one day, stepping into the front room of the hut from where he had been silently watching Rin and Sayuri in the other room.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru?" she had responded sweetly, sidling up to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "What is it? Is something the matter?"

Before dipping down to kiss her, Sesshoumaru glanced around and saw that Rin, now thirteen, was still playing with Sayuri in the back room obediently, and only Nobuyuki was in the room with the taiyoukai and his mate, but he was reading. Dragging Sango into a shadowy corner of the room, Sesshoumaru did kiss her, but that was certainly not what he had come to talk about.

"What's happened?" he asked her, gently removing her hands from his neck. "Why do you love him suddenly?"

"Love him?" Sango repeated, confused. "Love who?" She followed Sesshoumaru's gaze to the innocent Nobuyuki, and frowned. "He's my son," she answered simply. If asked this question the year before, she would have been utterly astounded.

"He is _Tohyama's _son."

"Yes, but he is _my _son too!"

"Yes, your son—by a rapist!" he hissed angrily, clawed hands in fists at his sides.

Sango squeezed her eyes shut to suppress her annoyance, and snapped, "N—" Sango caught herself just in time, for had she used her son's name, he would have undoubtedly looked up and listened in, "—he does not know that!"

"Does that matter, Sango?" Sesshoumaru shot back.

"He is _innocent_!"

"How can you even stand to look at him?"

That question caught her off guard, and she paused before answering. "I… I couldn't," she said finally. "For the first three years of his life, I spent all my days in the woods, as do you! But then I realized that… that it wasn't fair to him! I shunned him as the rest of the world shuns him even now—I shunned him as Inuyasha was shunned as a child!"

Sesshoumaru snorted at the mention of Inuyasha's name, but didn't say anything further.

* * *

For one long week, Sango was too angry with Sesshoumaru to even talk with him, spending all her time with her children and Rin.

"That man!" she fumed one afternoon as she put Sayuri down for her nap. Rin, beside her, shrugged sympathetically but didn't say anything; she was far too loyal to say anything negative about the man who had once resurrected her.

When the taijiya realized this, she turned to Rin with a sad smile on her face, and said, "Oh, Rin-chan, I'm sorry. I know you can't go against Sesshoumaru. But… it's just… how can he be so _cruel_?"

"Well," Rin hesitated, "it's just that… Nobuyuki _is _your child by another person, Sango-san. Sesshoumaru-sama feels… jealous?"

Sango grumbled an answer, kissed Sayuri on the forehead, and went back to the front room, where Nobuyuki was glowering at his stepfather, having been told somewhat of what was going on by Rin.

The sight of Sesshoumaru sitting calmly on the floor shocked Sango, as he would usually be in the woods thinking this time of day. Snorting angrily but otherwise ignoring him, Sango began to stalk past the taiyoukai, to attend to Nobuyuki. But, before she could reach her son, a clawed hand darted out and grabbed her wrist.

Sango turned to Sesshoumaru, and tried to pull out of his hold, but it was no use, for he tugged his mate to him one second later and all but dragged her out of the hut.

Once outside, the fact that winter was approaching hit Sango full in the face, and she shivered. Dutifully, Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around her, but she pulled away, more angry with him than she was cold. "What do you want?" she snapped.

He heaved a long sigh. "I… I apologize," he said after a moment's pause. "I suppose you are right. The green hanyou," Sango shot him a glare and he corrected himself, "I mean, Nobuyuki… is innocent. He does not know of his father's crimes."

Sango looked him up and down for a moment, her cinnamon orbs narrowed, before she conceded, "Fine."

"That's it?" Sesshoumaru said, surprised. "Just… fine?"

"What did you expect?" Sango asked hotly. " 'Oh, I forgive you, Sesshoumaru! I love you!' Hmm? Well? Is that what you want me to say?"

"No," Sesshoumaru snarled. "I just thought perhaps a simple 'I accept your apology,' would be nice."

"It's not that easy!" the taijiya snapped, taking a step toward the annoyed taiyoukai before her. He stood tall, and she jabbed a finger at his chest. "You think I'll just jump right back into your arms after you've been so cruel to my child?"

Sesshoumaru almost said, 'Tohyama's child,' but he stopped himself just in time, and instead remarked, "I haven't been cruel to him."

"Not outright!" Sango shot back, hands on her hips in frustration. "But you are _always _in the woods! Do you know what effect that has on him? Ever since he was born, you've practically _lived _in the woods! And I'm guilty of that too! But then I came to my senses and realized that my son needed me! And I'm currently waiting for you to come to that realization too!"

"He's not my son!"

The moment after he said it, Sesshoumaru wished with all his heart that he had not. But it was too late, and Sango clapped a hand over her mouth, spun around, and made her way back to the hut. The taiyoukai couldn't tell if she was fuming or crying, but personally, he hoped she was angry, for he couldn't stand it when she cried.

It was another week before Sango properly forgave her mate, though she might have that day had he not been so foolish and careless with his words…

On the day that her anger finally died, she was walking absently in the woods while Nobuyuki, Sayuri and Jaken were asleep, Rin was out gathering herbs for their dinner that evening, and, of course, Sesshoumaru was off sulking in the trees. She had not suspected that he would jump down in front of her without any warning, pull her to him like he had on that day a week before, and kiss her soundly on the lips.

She had been about to pull away, but when his lips descended on hers, all struggling ceased, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. When they broke apart for need for air, she, red in the face and feeling weak for succumbing to the kiss, looked away and mumbled, "Don't think I've forgiven you."

Sesshoumaru shook his head, and suppressed a sigh. "Yes," he said simply, by way of a response.

She snuck a glance at him and thought of how tender he could be. Those thoughts were immediately replaced with how cold he could be, to Nobuyuki in particular. But then she bit her lip, and admitted that she _didn't _want this fight to continue for any longer.

Suddenly, Sango felt that she knew how Kagome and Inuyasha had felt when they bickered, and her eyes dimmed at the thought of her old friends. Noticing this, Sesshoumaru reached for her instinctively, but she waved his hand away, thinking of Miroku. There was a long, excruciating silence for Sesshoumaru before Sango got a hold of herself and spoke.

"But… maybe… I will forgive you," Sango said softly as Sesshoumaru eyed her carefully, "if you are kinder to Nobuyuki."

Sesshoumaru stiffened for a second, and then relaxed, knowing he had only one choice, and that was to do what she wanted. "If you wish it, Sango," he said finally, avoiding her gaze and thinking of the green hanyou asleep back in the hut.

She smiled, and the taiyoukai waited expectantly for her to throw her arms around him, as she would have done not two weeks ago. But this time she did not; rather, she just walked back the way she had come, leaving Sesshoumaru by himself.

After a pause, he raced after her, and she, preoccupied by her old friends, guessed at the reason why he had chased her. "You're wondering why I didn't hug you," she said, stopping.

Sesshoumaru didn't respond, and she laughed then, knowing that she had been correct. "Well," she said, brightening a little and turning her thoughts to her son, "it's not that simple." Though she was referring to the extent of her anger, she went on to say, "But if you swear to me that you _will _make an effort with Nobuyuki, perhaps…"

The taiyoukai nodded reluctantly, and she turned back to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on the tips of her toes to bestow a chaste kiss upon the pleased demon.

Unfortunately, neither of them realized that it was too late, that the gap between Nobuyuki and his stepfather was too wide to cross, and that it would only get wider as the years went on.

* * *

"Look, nii-sama!" Sayuri bubbled happily, pointing a pudgy finger at a shooting star flashing across the sky. "Make a wish! Make a wish!" The three-year-old's silver hair bounced on her shoulders, and she attached herself to her six-year-old half-brother's leg.

Shaking his leg to remove her, Nobuyuki grunted, and crossed his arms over his chest. The green hanyou then closed his eyes and made a request: to have some peace and quiet. Since Sayuri learned to talk, and to walk as well, she had been following him around non-stop with endless cries of "Nii-sama! Nii-sama!" It had gotten annoying.

"Wanna know what my wish was?" piped up Sayuri.

"No, and don't tell, stupid!" Nobuyuki snapped at her. "Or else it won't come true!"

The little girl made a small, upset sound, and then sat down on the ground, looking at the dirt with her big amber eyes. "Sorry," she whimpered through oncoming tears at Nobuyuki's anger.

The boy watched his sister for a long time before squatting down next to her and rather roughly brushing away her tears. "Don't cry," he told her softly, ruffling her hair in a brother-like way, the first show of affection he had bestowed upon her in a long time and more proof that he was not completely cold.

Sayuri smiled at him through her slowing tears and stood up, once more grabbing Nobuyuki's knees and holding to them fast. He groaned and muttered darkly under his breath, but allowed her to stay, not wanting to see his little sister cry.

* * *

A couple of weeks later, Nobuyuki snuck out of the hut where his mother, half-sister and possibly stepfather slept, past the hut where Rin and Jaken were sleeping, and out of their little, rundown village. The sun was just coming up, and by that light, he could see the plateau rising up that separated the Okkanai village from the Mujitsu village.

He had always admired the hill from afar, and the hanyou had decided that today would finally be the day that he would go up there; sure, he had gone up there before, but that was just to run up and down it so he could get to Mujitsu Village to request some food for his family when no one else could do it.

In the dawn light, he crawled up to the top, and sat looking over his home with a satisfied look on his face. After many minutes of sitting in the crisp morning air, his eyes began to droop closed, and he chided himself over not having the patience to wait until he was properly rested.

Some while later, after he had slumped forward in a doze, a female voice cut through the air, startling and waking him: "Be strong," the anonymous girl said, and he heard the soft sound of her footsteps approaching. "Grow stronger than those tears, little boy!"

Nobuyuki whirled around angrily, and took in the girl's gasp as she saw the color of his skin. "I'm not crying!" he snapped at her.

"Oh," she said after a long pause, stepping backward and tripping over a rock and landing on her backside in the grass in her haste. "I-I'm sorry. I thought—"

Nobuyuki stared at her with a scrutinizing eye, and snorted disdainfully. He stood up and took a step toward her. She scrambled back, emitting a small squeak. His eyes hardened at this and he told her flatly, "Don't be scared. I'm not going to bite you."

The girl nodded, obviously older than him by about one year, and asked, "You're that boy who sometimes comes to our village, right?"

The hanyou nodded, and deduced that she must have been about seven years old, with long black hair, large, earnest emerald eyes and a worn, pale green kimono with a pink design of flowers at the hem, and nothing more. His nose wrinkled, and he deduced that she was pretty.

She crawled toward him on her hands and knees until she was right next to him, and surprised him with her bravery. Usually, villagers would have been running by now. "My name," she said at last, when she was comfortable, "is Tsumura Mio."

It was a good thing that Nobuyuki had not been brought up hating humans, as Sesshoumaru had; after all, how could he, with a human mother? But even though the boy had been told that humans were not to be hated, after living his whole life in fear of the humans and their torches and stones, he was very wary of this Tsumura Mio.

"Hello," he said hesitantly, "I'm Nobuyuki."

She grinned at him, and pulled him down so he was sitting next to her. "Well, Nobu-chan," she said, surprising him with the nickname, "isn't this hill nice? I come up here every day!"

From that moment on, a friendship began to take form, however hesitant it was on Nobuyuki's side. And that friendship bloomed, at least, until one evening, a couple of months later.

* * *

"I should get back to my house," Nobuyuki said hurriedly to Mio as the sun began to set on that night where there would be _no moon_. They had been playing all day and he had lost complete track of the time.

"No, Nobu-chan!" Mio protested. It surprised the green hanyou, as she was usually fine with him going home before dark on nights such as this. When she saw his expression, she hesitantly explained, "Well, you see, I broke some plates today, and I really don't want to face my mother!"

Nobuyuki shook his head, half in sympathy and half in humour. Mio seemed as if she could never do anything right, not that it particularly bothered him. "But," he said mildly, albeit a little desperately, "I really have to get back."

After a pause, Mio totally ignored her friend and grabbed Nobuyuki, tugging him after her and toward the center of the plateau at the top of the hill from where he had been edging slowly toward Okkanai village. Refusing to let go even as he struggled—and she was a strong girl—she insisted, "Let's stay out after dark! Come on, Nobu-chan, it'll be really fun!"

Unfortunately, just as Nobuyuki finally tugged out of her hold, the sun disappeared over the horizon and the hanyou clutched at his head, letting out a miserable groan as he changed into the monstrous creature that only his family had seen before then.

Mio's eyes went wide as she saw the transformation, and her hands flew momentarily to her mouth before she turned on her heel and ran away with a terrified scream of, _"AHHHHHHH!"  
_

* * *

When Nobuyuki turned twelve, and Sango told him who his real father was, he exploded at her, screaming and throwing his fists around. It was the first sign of the hanyou's true temper. The strange thing was, when he was happy, or just in a normal mood, Nobuyuki was fine, almost pleasant, but when he got properly angry, nothing could stop him.

Even though since Sango and Sesshoumaru's talk eight years before, Sesshoumaru had been making a certain effort to get along with his stepson, Nobuyuki had never warmed to him, and this only made the rift ever wider; so wide, in fact, that Nobuyuki could not even bear to look at the taiyoukai, no less talk to him. When he heard the news of Tohyama's existence, he was thrilled to bits, but also absolutely furious.

He stalked off after he had calmed down a bit, leaving his tired mother to sit down and bang her head against the wall in exasperation and frustration. The green hanyou, muttering things like, "I can't believe they didn't tell me," and, "I bet my _real _father was much stronger than that weakling my mother is mated to," dashed off to the hill between Okkanai and Mujitsu, a place he always went to think.

It was also the place he first met Tsumura Mio, and the place where she had seen his other form, and run away, screaming. Since then, Nobuyuki had done his best to distance himself from her, but, it seemed that over the years Mio had fallen inexplicably in love with the boy, and was constantly trying to close the gap between them with her love, unaware of the fact that she was only even making it wider.

When he arrived at the top, all was quiet, and Nobuyuki observed with satisfaction that he was the only one there. At least, that's what he was led to believe for the first few minutes before there was a deafening cry of _"Nobu-chan!" _and he was tackled from behind.

They landed in a heap of arms and legs in the grass, with Mio's arms wrapped securely around Nobuyuki's middle, and his arms on her shoulders, ready to push her away. And push her away he did. With a grunt, he threw her off him, and into the grass.

Standing and brushing himself off, he greeted her with a simple, "Mio."

The thirteen-year-old stood and crossed her arms over her chest, a pout placed on her pink lips. "Nobu-chan," she chided, wagging a finger at him, "it's not nice to push someone—especially a _girl_."

"I came up here to _think_, Mio," he said pointedly, wandering over to where the hill began its steady downward slope to Okkanai village.

"Well, think, then!" she exclaimed cutely, pulling him down into a sitting position on the ground as she leaned against his back. "I won't bother you."

Knowing this was as good as it was going to get, Nobuyuki sighed and humoured the girl a little longer.

* * *

Another three years passed, and Nobuyuki's anger at his mother for refusing to tell him of his real father before dissipated and then disappeared altogether, but his resentment for Sesshoumaru never left him.

Nobuyuki watched as his mother aged, and his stepfather did not. There was a definite difference, though, it had to be said, Sango aged well.

Nobuyuki watched as his sister grew into a capable twelve-year-old, and as Jaken began to wither away, and as Rin, now twenty-four, finally decided to leave her foster father, foster mother, and their children for a regular life in Mujitsu village, just a couple minutes away.

When Sayuri did turn twelve, on the day of her birthday, Sango announced with a grin that they were all about to meet their aunt. Nobuyuki and Sayuri were both confused by this. What aunt? Before that day, an aunt had never been mentioned.

Amused by her childrens' confusion, and slightly annoyed by her mate's reaction (for Sesshoumaru was none too pleased about seeing this mysterious aunt), Sango told them that she would arrive later that day, and that they had to be patient.

You see, the week before, Sango had gotten a letter from Kagome—she hadn't seen the girl in many, many years, and letters weren't all that frequent either. All the taijiya knew of her friends was that Inuyasha had become her mate shortly after the friends parted ways, and that the young miko had had a child.

The most recent letter proposed a visit, and an overjoyed Sango had immediately sent a letter—along with a crudely drawn map—back, saying that Kagome should come to the taijiya's home instead, that Sayuri's birthday would be the perfect time, and that the miko should bring her own child.

* * *

When Sango saw Kagome, whom she hadn't seen in sixteen years, standing in the doorway of her home, the overjoyed greeting she had carefully prepared died in her throat.

Kagome was to be thirty-one this year, a year younger than Sango, but she looked to be about forty. She had grown chubby; the usually loose gi that miko's was tight on her once slim frame. Sango told herself that Kagome had never recovered from her pregnancy, though ten years was an _awfully _long time, and Sango knew she was lying to herself.

The miko's face was deeply lined with the cruelty of premature aging, and her blue-grey eyes, once so bright and full of life, were now cloudy with a deep sadness that looked out of place on the once bubbly Kagome's face. That sadness had rooted itself three years ago, on the day of the death of the so-called invincible Inuyasha.

Kagome had sent a letter two weeks after that held her grim account of the incident.

The woman said that they had been fighting a demon with vicious, spear-like fingers and she, heavy with child—a child that later miscarried—had been screaming and drawing so much attention to herself that the demon had gone for her. Inuyasha had dove for her, and successfully blocked the claw; he had not counted for another knife-like hand to fly for his heart at the speed of sound.

Sango had fought bitterly with Sesshoumaru in the weeks that had followed. She had wanted so desperately to go and comfort her friend, against the taiyoukai's will. He said that it would only cause her more pain, so eventually Sango gave up and instead cried into Sesshoumaru's breastplate over the great hanyou's death. That, of course, pleased her mate to no end.

"The years have been kind to you, Sango-chan," came a weary voice, breaking Sango out of her thoughts to see Kagome examining the taijiya's frozen smile. "I see you've noticed that age hasn't taken to_me _kindly." She heaved a bitter sigh. "I feel so old."

Before replying, Sango wondered if Kagome regretted not staying in her time, and cutting all links with Inuyasha. "You're thirty!" Sango protested a moment later.

Unfortunately, Kagome took Sango's pause to think as hesitation, and narrowed her tired eyes.

"Kagome-chan," Sango said hurriedly, to change the subject, "where's Shigure-kun? I want to meet him!"

Kagome stiffened, and Sango hoped nothing had happened to Kagome's only son of ten years, who had been seven when his father died. Sango had been told about him in a cheerful letter nine years prior.

"Shigure-chan is dead," Kagome said with a tremor in her tone. "Killed returning from the rice paddy, by a cowardly demon that fled when I approached to see what had happened."

Before Sango had time even to react, at the most unfortunate of timing, her two children stepped in from where they had been waiting with Sesshoumaru in the back room; Sayuri first, and a sulking Nobuyuki second.

When Sango's daughter first appeared, Kagome's hand flew to her mouth and tears filled her eyes. At that time Sango wondered if the harsh and lonely life had made Kagome even more sensitive, and the taijiya thought once more whether Kagome might regret ever had anything to do with the Inuyasha and the feudal era.

Sayuri went to greet her aunt, but Kagome had already come to her, and was tenderly touching the twelve-year-old's long silver hair.

However uncomfortable Sayuri might have felt, it was only magnified by Kagome reaching down and touching the small, navy crescent on the hanyou's forehead. But then Kagome seemed to wake up, and hurriedly stepped away, leaving the startled Sayuri to rush to her mother.

But then fifteen-year-old Nobuyuki entered, slouching, eyes to the floor, his dark fringe hiding his narrowed crimson eyes from view.

At that moment, Sango could read her friend's thoughts as easily as if she'd spoken them aloud…

_Green.  
_

* * *

"This is good, Sango," Kagome said, even though she was just picking at her food. "Thank you."

"You… you're welcome," Sango responded, and leaned thoughtlessly against her mate, momentarily forgetting the pain that this would cause her friend and how annoyed Nobuyuki would be by this.

Recently, any physical contact between Sango and Sesshoumaru had really irked the young hanyou—even if it was just that Sango fell against Sesshoumaru after tripping over a stone, or if she gave him a thank-you hug after returning with food for dinner. Nobuyuki would glare at Sesshoumaru and his mother viciously—he seemed to have it in his head that Sango and Tohyama had originally been happily together, and then she left him for some mundane and unimportant purpose.

Sango wanted to convince him otherwise, but no matter what she said, Nobuyuki wouldn't listen, and he was getting angry more and more often—sometimes seemingly without cause. It worried his mother, who wanted only the best for her son.

Watching Sango lean on Sesshoumaru so lovingly made Nobuyuki snort and hack at his food as if it were an enemy. Kagome, however, didn't make a sound and looked away. Though there was really no outward change in Kagome's appearance, her eyes shone too brightly—a brightness that suggested oncoming tears—but she hurriedly blinked them away and went back to simply staring at her food, shooting the occasional glance at Nobuyuki, somehow knowing—perhaps by his appearance—that he was _not _Sesshoumaru's child. "So," she said hesitantly, "how—"

Before she could go on, Nobuyuki shot up, accidentally knocking over his tray of food over and shocking his onlookers. "Shut _up_!" he roared, bringing his foot down hard, feeling a clay mug shatter beneath his feet and feeling a somewhat muted pain as sharp fragments cut into his foot.

"Nobuyuki!" Sango exclaimed, following suit by standing too, very shocked that his temper had erupted during what seemed like an uneventful dinner and seeming to forget how she had been acting a moment before. "What's wrong?'

"_Stop _pretending to have 'nice conversation' when you are really so _jealous_!" Nobuyuki snapped at Kagome, who was so startled that she dropped her unused chopsticks. He turned to his mother and Sesshoumaru beside her and—for seeing Sango lean against Sesshoumaru had been the final straw—bellowed at them, "Mother! How can you be in love with this weak cur? What on earth possessed you to abandon my father and have relations with," he jerked his head savagely at the taiyoukai, "him?"

Sesshoumaru stood up angrily, but Sango threw out an arm to stop him advancing on the green hanyou. "You don't understand!" the taijiya exclaimed unhappily. "Nobuyuki, Tohyama _raped _me—"

Kagome let out a mighty gasp and shrieked, "He is _Tohyama's_ son?"

Sayuri stood up and too and was about to verbally attack her half-brother for being so cruel, when suddenly Nobuyuki clamped his hands over his pointed ears and dashed into the back room, returned a moment later with a selection of clothes in his hands.

"N-Nobuyuki," Sango stammered as her son made his way to the door, "wh-where are you going with those clothes?"

"To be with my _real _father!" the hanyou snapped, and disappeared out the door.

"Nobuyuki!" Sango exclaimed, horrified. She wrenched the curtain that served as the door to the hut open and stuck her head out, hollering her son's name once more. But he was already gone.

Creeping back inside with a defeated, choked sob, Sango crumpled in Sesshoumaru's open arms, now wishing sorely that she had led her son to believe that the taiyoukai _was_ his true father, no matter how much they resented each other.

Sesshoumaru immediately wrapped his hand around her in comfort, and fought the small, wicked smirk that kept trying to creep up onto his unlined face. Kagome watched him carefully, and when he noticed, the arms around Sango tightened and his expression told Kagome not to ask questions.

_Fin_

* * *

**Don't miss the epilogue!**


	5. Epilogue: Nobuyuki

**Epilogue: Nobuyuki**

Nobuyuki ran at full speed toward the hill that had been his childhood thinking place, the occasional item of clothing flying out of his hands and landing forgotten on the ground behind him. _I have to get away,_the fifteen-year-old thought, _and find my _real _father!_

"Nobu-chan!" came a sudden shout.

The hanyou stopped short and whirled around, coming face to face with his childhood friend, Tsumura Mio. He almost dropped the remainder of his clothes he was so startled, and barely managed to hiss at her, "Get away from me!"

"Nobu-chan," the human girl chided, grabbing his hand and leading him up the hill, "that's no way to speak to a girl!"

Shrugging out of her hold, Nobuyuki bellowed, "You don't understand—I'm leaving! If you don't let go, my mother will come for me and take me back to that horrible mate of hers!"

Mio looked over her shoulder; her eyes darkened by sadness at the thought of him leaving, and said, "She's not following." Looking earnestly into his crimson eyes, she whispered, "Please, just a few minutes. Humour me for a few more minutes before you leave me forever, Nobu-chan."

Heaving a sigh but following her up the hill, Nobuyuki cursed his luck as Mio contemplated if what she had to say was needed, and thought of the cruelty of her family earlier that evening…

_"I'm going to see Nobu-chan!" Mio exclaimed to her mother. There was a strange feeling in her gut, a feeling that she would soon lose someone close to her, and she was very afraid that it might be Nobuyuki._

_Her mother stalked up to her, pieces of the broken mug that Mio had accidentally shattered minutes before in her hands. "Mio," she said sullenly, her hands bleeding from the rough edges of what had once been an expensive clay cup. "He will never love you."_

_Mio froze from where she had been halfway to the door, and turned slowly around. "Why… why would you say something like that?" she had cried, somewhat shrilly, but she never received an answer, nor had she given her mother time to answer, for the girl had rushed out the door immediately afterwards._

"Here we are!" Mio announced, tugging herself out her thoughts as they reached the top of the hill. "I love this place… remember how we would always sneak out to play?" But then, her cheerfulness gone, she turned to him. "It's also the place I saw your other form for the first time, Nobuyuki-kun."

"_Let's stay out after dark!" _Mio remembered insisting as the sun had gone down; she had been tugging a small Nobuyuki after her._ "Come on, Nobu-chan, it'll be really fun!"_

_I forced you, Nobuyuki-kun, _Mio thought as she painfully recalled the incident, how he had _changed _into something monstrous on that night of the new moon, and how she had let out a long scream and ran away from his pained eyes.

"After that, Nobuyuki-kun," recalled Mio aloud, staring at her toes, "you started to avoid me." Then, she hesitated, knowing she was lying.

_No… I was the once who started distancing myself first._

Collapsing down on a tree stump and not daring to meet his surprised eyes, Mio said, "Nobuyuki-kun, for a long time, I felt guilty that I had ever been born. After all, I was the one person who could never do anything right, and, as if we weren't poor enough, I kept causing us to lose more and more money. I thought I was the _worst_ person on earth.  
"But then, I met you, and I was… relieved." She laughed shortly, bitterly. "I realized that, compared to you, I had it easy."

_Compared to a kid who was hated by all just because of his race… I wasn't so bad after all._

"And suddenly, I could feel good about myself. I was always," her heart went cold as this realization hit her, "looking down on you, Nobuyuki-kun."

When the hanyou didn't respond, Mio brought her hands to her face, hiding her big green eyes. _It's terrible, _she thought. _That day I ran away from you, I was so_ _afraid._

_I wanted to do it all over again. I wanted you to forget how horribly I abandoned you._

Not even daring to glance at Nobuyuki, Mio whispered, "I thought that if I could _love_ you, Nobuyuki-kun… if I could shorten the distance between us, and if you could love me back, then maybe… you would forgive me, and it would be like that night never happened."

_But when I saw you running from your mother's house with clothes in your arms, I realized that I was blind to _your _pain, Nobuyuki-kun. It was all about myself._

_I never thought about the feelings I must have hurt after I deserted you, Nobuyuki-kun. I was so… selfish._

"I'm sorry," came her broken voice as tears pricked her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Nobuyuki-kun."

"You don't need to say these things on my account," he began, baritone voice echoing around the small plane as he stepped forward. When Mio looked up, he continued with narrowed eyes, "Mio, I don't love you. I will _never_ love you. I just," he paused to glance at her wide emerald eyes without a trace of guilt, "wanted to let you know. Even if you looked down on me… there's nothing for you to apologise for."

Without replying, Mio stood up and walked slowly past him, hands locked together behind her back. In order to hold back her tears, she was biting her lip hard enough to make it bleed. She knew that if she even looked at him, no less spoke to him, everything would come out. So, betraying nothing to him, she merely thought sadly, _You don't have to be so nice. When I chose to love you, a part of me knew that I'd never be able to get close to you… but I still convinced myself that I could do it._

Nobuyuki turned towards her, perturbed by her lack of response. "Mio," he said softly, "no matter what your reason was, when you talked and played with me, I was happy. My family could never have filled the space that you did. And, for that, I thank you."

Still silent, she began to walk away from him, off the plateau, wishing she were brave enough to say goodbye. But then, a thought made her pause. _At the beginning, I was only in it for myself… but as time went on… I really started to love him…_

It was then that Mio turned back to him and began to sob as tears ran down her face in rivers. "Nobu-chan! Nobuyuki-kun…!"

_It wasn't just my selfishness that kept me near him…!_

"Nobuyuki-kun… oh, Nobuyuki-kun… I _do_ love you!" She crumpled, and screamed to the skies, "I love you!"

Before she knew it, Nobuyuki had walked up, placed a hand behind her head and tugged her to him. Now she stood, still weeping, in a tight embrace with the one she wished to be with forever. "Thank you," he said softly. "Thank you, Mio."

She squeezed her eyes shut as he released her, and refused to watch him walk away, and out of her life…

* * *

Nobuyuki stole away from Mio and off down the hill, past Mujitsu village, and into the open air. Though he didn't know exactly where his father would be, from the story that his mother told him when he was twelve, he deduced that it must be about a day away.

_I'll start in one direction, _he thought to himself, determinedly keeping his mind off the girl he had just left all alone, _and ask the first village I come across if they have had any trouble._

Taking a deep breath, the hanyou set off at a run toward the north.

It took three tries, but when Nobuyuki finally decided to go westward, the first village was completely normal, but when the hanyou asked the quaking farmers whether they had heard about any trouble further on, they nodded yes and he hurried on. The second village was in chaos, and he knew that his father had been there.

He darted in and opened his mouth to ask what had happened when one of the villagers before him let out a long wail. "It's returned!" she screamed, hurrying to hide behind a broad-shouldered man wielding a lit torch. "The demon—it's come for us again!"

Nobuyuki heaved a sigh and cursed his appearance, wishing that, like his father, he could change his appearance at will. Unfortunately, the hanyou could do no such thing; he could only merely try and convince the villagers that he meant them no harm.

"Please!" he called out, holding up a hand. "I am not here to hurt you. All I want is information. Could you tell me what happened here?"

"We shall do no such thing!" screeched the man, abandoning the woman to come at Nobuyuki, torch in hand.

Sango had taught him how to avoid blades, how to pin your opponent to the ground without hurting them, and such things when he was a child, so now Nobuyuki slid past the burly human and in one clean motion, had him trapped in the dirt. The green boy had always wished his mother had taught him more—more violent things, like how to wield a sword, but she had refused, and now he was sorely regretting not forcing her into it.

"Tell me," he ground out, "what happened or," he paused then, thinking, and then lied, "I'll… I'll break your arm!"

The big man gulped and began a long explanation about how a demon with countless tentacles, and strange heads placed on the tips of almost every one, had come to their village in search of… well, they didn't know.

Nobuyuki, confident that this must be his father, let the human go and demanded, "Tell me where he went."

"Back that way," blustered the human, red in the face and pointing further west.

The green hanyou nodded and set off that way without saying anything more, and the entire village watched him go with frightened looks on their faces. Not before too long, Nobuyuki arrived at a grand fortress high on a hill, and immediately made for it as fast as his surefooted legs would take him.

When he arrived, he saw to his surprise, not a demon inside the open courtyard, but a puny human with brown hair, a loose blue gi and a ratty black hakama patrolling the grounds, hand on the hilt of his sheathed katana.

"Hey!" Nobuyuki shouted, stepping inside the open gate. "Human, are _you_ the lord of this castle?"

The boy glanced up and made his way over, grinning a dark half smile. "Half-breed," he said in greeting.

Nobuyuki bristled at the demeaning name, but was silent.

The human boy then paused and cocked his head to the side, murmuring, "Don't you look familiar." Frowning, he walked back into the courtyard, beckoning for Nobuyuki to follow him. Hesitantly, the hanyou did as asked, and found he had a right to be nervous when the human suddenly curled in on himself and let out a deafening roar.

There was a blinding flash of light so bright that Nobuyuki covered his eyes and let out a shout. When he next lowered his hand, he saw to his horror and exaltation that what stood before him now was not an innocent looking human boy, but a monstrous creature with many snaking appendages.

"Father!" the hanyou exclaimed on impulse, rushing forward. "I-I knew it! You… you're Tohyama, aren't you?"

The head in the center (Nobuyuki noticed that it was the face of the boy) narrowed its green eyes—they were too much like Mio's for Nobuyuki's liking—and dipped down toward the green lad with a soft murmur of, "So _you're _Nobuyuki, are you?"

Nobuyuki nodded his head emphatically, and barely managed to stop himself from throwing his arms open for a hug. "Father!" he cried out joyously. "I've wanted to meet you for so lo—father?"

The hanyou found to his surprise that his father was no longer listening, but merely muttering to himself and shooting the occasional glance at the confused boy. Nobuyuki caught only snatches of the murmurings, and what he heard quite offended him, though he would have never said so. He heard things like, "I thought he'd be better looking," and, "He looks like a weakling."

But then Tohyama turned back to his puzzled son and lifted him up in one tentacle with three inquiries: "What are you doing here? Are you lost? Do you wish to return to your mother?"

Nobuyuki shook his head animatedly and, only bothering to answer his father's final question, exclaimed, "No, I wish to be here with you!"

"Then you will work for me."

"Work… _for _you?" Nobuyuki had never thought of it like that. He thought when he ran away to be with his father, they would spend every day together, constantly gossiping about that freak that Sango was now mated to, and Sango herself, not to mention that little brat Sayuri. "But—I thought—" But then Nobuyuki paused, and convinced himself that his dream had been absolutely idiotic. "Yes," the green boy said after a long pause. "I will work for you."

"Good. Do you know how to fight, or how to use a sword?"

Nobuyuki shifted uncomfortably in his father's grasp. "No."

Tohyama immediately let the boy go, and he landed hard on the ground, ashamed. The hanyou stood to apologize for his weakness, but suddenly found before him the same young man that he had seen when he first came in—a boy the same age as he was, surely!

After murmuring something about how he expected Sango to at least teach the boy _something _about battle, and how he would now have to, the young man turned to him and grinned humourlessly, exclaiming, "You can call me Kyo, boy, and from now on, _I_ will take care of you."

* * *

Nobuyuki had a simple job, and it was this: when his father needed to feed on the images of humans, or demons, to keep him strong, the green hanyou would pop out to a nearby village and bring back a couple of humans, or a stray demon.

Everything was fine, but then, one evening, about a year after the hanyou had run away from his mother, when Nobuyuki had finally convinced his father to sit down with him and have a meal using Kyo's form, _it _happened.

"Father!" Nobuyuki exclaimed over his food. "Were those village girls I brought you today satisfactory?"

Tohyama chuckled and slapped his son on the back hard enough to make him stagger and nearly fall into his food, and went on to say, "I feel much better, thank you, Nobuyuki. Now, let us give a toast—"

"—to you," Nobuyuki interrupted, lifting his cup of sake.

"No," Tohyama said, waving him away, "to you."

"But why?" the hanyou exclaimed. "To be toasted to by the great Tohyama—please, I have done nothing to deserve such a great honour."

His father shook his head and laughed uproariously, raising his cup too. "To you, my son, for long outliving your purpose!"

Nobuyuki froze, cup to his lips, as these words sunk in. Turning slowly to Tohyama, Nobuyuki saw to his horror that instead of the figure of Kyo sitting before him, there sat his father in his true form, tentacles flapping. "What?" he asked nervously, placing his cup of sake back on the table. "What are… what do you mean?"

"Add hearing to your list of defects," Tohyama said pompously as one tentacle darted out and grabbed Nobuyuki by the wrist, pulling him without any hesitation through a gap in the mass of swirling tentacles. There was a horrible sucking noise, a bright light—and suddenly Nobuyuki sat at the table once more. Stretching once and murmuring, "Ah, now _that _feels better," the green-skinned creature leaned back, content, and sipped at his sake.

* * *

**Summary for the sequel_, Tactics of War_:**

_After Nobuyuki's disappearance, Sango falls into a deep depression. But then, when he suddenly returns, all is not as it seems, and suddenly Sango and Sesshoumaru are thrust into a fight for their lives as well as the life of their daughter!_

**(ETA, 02/11: Well, you guys can forget about that. It's one of those shameful affairs to lay completed and secret on my hard drive for the rest of my life. I mean, if you really want it, ask, but...)**


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